Ghost Of My Former Self
by alias093001
Summary: Everyone knows the story. James and Lily Potter gave their lives to save their one year-old son Harry. Sixteen years later, Harry was able to destroy the most hated wizard in the Wizarding World: Lord Voldemort. But, what if Voldemort was never born?
1. Scar Pains

**Author's Note: A conversation with my sister from a few months ago helped spark this idea. We wondered what might have happened to Harry's life if Voldemort never existed? Since December 31st, 1926 when the Dark wizard was born, Harry's life was predetermined; he was destined to become Voldemort's nemesis. But, what _if_ that never happened?  
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**Scar Pains**

Harry's head was in his hands. His scar was burning, but that was nothing unusual. Voldemort's power was increasing, and it was only a matter of time before Voldemort made his move. Harry looked up at the red-head and brunette sitting before him. "Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, looking up from the book she was reading. Harry could see the concern in her eyes.

The trio was the only ones sitting in the Gryffindor common room. Everyone else had gone to bed, but they stayed up. Hermione, as per usual, was studying; Ron was up late writing an essay due tomorrow for Snape; and Harry, well, Harry was _supposed_ to be studying. There was no way he could though. The book was in his lap, but he couldn't focus; he couldn't concentrate.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Harry snapped. Hermione recoiled back, seeming to regret even bringing it up. "Sorry, Hermione. Things have been stressful lately. There's something going on here. The Ministry's getting out of control, Draco is clearly up to something, and Dumbledore has me helping him with something. I don't know if I can handle all of that, plus school. Voldemort is turning my life upside-down."

"And, your scar? Is it hurting, mate?" Ron implored.

"I wouldn't be holding it if it wasn't," Harry shot back.

"I was only asking, Harry," Ron proclaimed defensively.

"That's beside the point, Ron," Hermione argued, coming to Harry rescue. "Out of everyone, Harry deals with the most. And, remember, we're prefects." She set her book down on the table, slamming it shut. "Harry deals with more than we'll ever know thanks to the bond he has with Voldemort. Do then try to be a little more considerate."

"Yes, Hermione," Ron said, with disdain.

The scar continued burning and it soon it became too much for Harry. He set the book down on the table and headed towards the staircase. "I'm going to bed," he said. "Maybe some sleep will help."

Hermione did not bother to look up from Ron's essay that she so viciously snapped away from Ron a few moments before. She just waved a goodbye. Ron looked over. "Good night, mate!"

After changing into his pajamas and climbing into bed, a thought occurred to him. _What would have happened if Voldemort never existed? What might have happened if Tom Riddle Sr. and Merope Gaunt never had a child together?_ Harry remembered what Dumbledore told him about Voldemort's history. But, he wondered what might have occurred if the past was rewritten. It was that final thought that passed through Harry's head before drifting peacefully asleep, the burning sensation in his scar fading away to nothingness.

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** Tell me what you think.**


	2. Elaborate Joke

**Elaborate Joke**

Semi-awake, Harry stretched his arms out, letting out a yawn. His emerald green eyes were heavy and head throbbed, and it was clear to Harry that his scar must have hurt much more than he thought. Propping himself up, Harry saw the rumpled empty beds of his comrades. Slowly and holding the wall to steady himself, Harry stumbled to the bathroom and looked at his reflection. A quick glance later and Harry got ready for the day and headed down to the Gryffindor common room.

Ron was sitting in the same place he was the previous night. _Hermione must have insisted that he stay up all night. There's no way she would have let him go to bed if he has an essay due to Snape today._ Quickly waving to his best friend, Harry headed down to the Great Hall. As the Fat Lady's portrait swung closed, Harry saw Draco Malfoy leaning up against the wall. _That bloody git!_ Harry thought. _What's he doing here?_ He groaned. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry sneered.

"Really, Harry, is that really how you're going to treat your best friend?" Malfoy asked.

"_Best friend_?" Harry asked. "Sorry, Malfoy; you're delusional. My best friend is Ron Weasley. Always will be." Harry could still remember that day in Madam Malkin's when he first ran into Draco Malfoy. There was a certain air of wonderment Harry had about the Wizarding World he grew up away from that was dashed the moment Harry met Draco Malfoy. After living with the Dursleys for eleven years, anything would have seemed a better alternative. Meeting Malfoy changed that. There was no way in hell that Harry would ever become friends with Malfoy after that.

Malfoy's seemingly permanent smirk disappeared, a look of confusion replacing it instead. A pale hand clamped down on Harry's shoulder. "Sorry, mate. I'm afraid you're the delusional one. Ronald Weasley _has_ no friends. His nose is always stuck in a book." He eyed Harry. "You know that, of course. What's with you, Harry? We've been friends for years; our houses may be different, but we _are_ friends. How could you forget something as big as that?"

Harry racked his brain, searching for any memory of what Malfoy claimed. There was none. All of this had to some elaborate joke Malfoy planned to get back at Harry. For whatever reason, Ron went along with this scheme. Maybe Malfoy offered to stop calling him Weasel, or making fun of his family if he went along with this. Anything was really possible when it came to Draco Malfoy. But, since Harry had no way of proving Malfoy erroneous, aside from his own word which seemed dubious at the moment, he went along with it; he would see how deep and elaborate this joke went. "Okay?" Harry stated questionably. "Now what?"

"Uh, breakfast?" Malfoy stated obviously.

"Whatever _Malfoy_!" Harry said disdainfully.

"Would you _stop_ that?" he yelled.

"Stop what?" Harry asked.

"Calling me Malfoy. You know better than that. Call me Draco, as you have since we were kids," Malfoy Draco stated.

Harry nodded and followed Mal-Draco down to the Great Hall. Things were silent as Harry was still confused by what was going on, and the boys soon parted ways. Harry seated himself next to Dean Thomas and dug into the food laying out before them. "Hello, Harry," Dean said brightly.

"Morning, Dean," Harry said with a mouthful of food.

While Harry was busy shoveling food into his mouth, Seamus came over, a _Daily Prophet_ in his hand. Seamus thrust the paper in front of Harry and Dean. "Did you hear? Fudge decided that he would be coming here to speak with some of the students about the Ministry's policies."

_Fudge?_ Harry wondered as he stopped shoveling food in his mouth. _But, I thought Scrimgeour became Ministry of Magic. Why would Fudge be coming?_

"Brilliant!" Dean proclaimed. "The school really does need a few changes."

"Agreed," Seamus said.

_Malfoy really must want to mess with my head. His father may be in Azkaban, but the Malfoys still have friends in the Ministry. Draco must have used his connections to get Fudge back_ Harry realized. Suddenly, Harry realized something: he had seen all his friends but Neville and Hermione. "Dean, Seamus, where are Hermione and Neville?"

"Who?" Dean inquired.

"Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom," Harry stated like it was obvious.

Dean still looked confused, but Seamus seemed to know what Harry was talking about. "That Hufflepuff boy and the Ravenclaw girl? Why would you want to know about them?" he implored.

Harry sat there dumbfounded. "Because they're _my_ friends. They're _our_ friends!" Harry shouted.

With Harry's outburst, everyone in the Great Hall turned to look at him. Everyone was pointing and laughing at him. Hermione and Neville looked over from their tables at Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff respectively. Both seemed somewhat freaked by what was going on. _What kind of sick joke is Malfoy trying to play on me?_ he wondered.

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**Poor Harr**y. **I feel so bad for him. He's so utterly confused. **

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	3. Confusion

**Confusion**

After Harry's outcry, no one's eyes left him. To them, it all seemed normal for Hermione to be in Ravenclaw, and for Neville to be a Hufflepuff. For Harry, it was quite a shock. He was so used to seeing them at the Gryffindor table that them being anywhere else seemed rather strange. _What is going on?_ Harry wondered. His emerald green eyes peered over the staff table. All the teachers were staring at him, a look of disapproval on all of their faces; Snape's look seemed to be one of pure disgust though. Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes were the only ones not to seem confused by Harry's outburst. _Dumbledore would know_, Harry concluded. _He knows everything_.

While gazing over at the staff table, Harry came to notice that there was something missing. Slughorn. Snape achieving his dream job brought Professor Horace Slughorn out of retirement and back into the Hogwarts halls. It wasn't clear as to the reason though, and this seemed to confuse Harry even more. Instead of Slughorn, Harry saw a tall man dressed in bright orange robes. The man's hair was bright red, reminding Harry of Ron. He had never seen this man before and wondered who he was, what was going on.

For the moment, Harry waved it off and turned is attention back to Seamus and Dean. Both were still looking at him weirdly. "What?" he asked.

"How can _we_ possibly be friends with Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom?" Dean asked. "I don't think I've ever said two words to either of them. How 'bout you, Seamus?"

"No, can't say that I have," Seamus stated.

"But-" Harry started.

He never got the chance to finish what he was saying as a hand grabbed him arm and he was pulled out into the hall. "What are you thinking, Harry?" Malfoy Draco yelled. "You're shouting lies in the Great Hall. Exactly what is going on with you?"

"Not one clue," Harry shrugged.

"Well, get your act together, and stop spouting lies," Draco muttered.

"I'll try. One thing though," Harry said. "That guy with the red hair. Who is it?"

"You're kidding, right?" Draco asked. "That's Professor Fabian Prewett, our Defense against the Dark Arts professor. He paused for a moment to grunt. "He also happens to be Weasley's uncle."

Harry snapped his fingers. "That's it!" Though he was still confused by the fact that all of this was even going on, the look of Dumbledore's face clearly showed that he might have some answers. Dumbledore always seemed to know everything.

"You should really know this, Harry," Malfoy Draco intoned. "Professor Prewett has been here for the past decade; we've always had him. Always did favor his nephew though, remember?"

"Uh, yeah," Harry replied, not knowing what he was talking about. There were so many changes in the Wizarding World that happened in just one night. Harry still believed that this was some elaborate joke Malfoy cooked up, wondering why he was doing this. Something within the past twenty-four hours must have happened and Harry wanted to know exactly what it was.

"Good. Now, come on," the blond teen insisted.

Harry followed Draco back in the Great Hall where they parted and Harry reclaimed his seat from before. A small boy soon appeared, tapping Harry on the shoulder. "I was asked to deliver this to you."

"Thanks," Harry said to the boy and took the note. He carefully opened the folded note, reading it quickly.

Harry,  
There's matter I need to discuss with you. Come by my office tonight at 7.  
Albus Dumbledore

P.S. Black Licorice is tasty.

_Looks like I'm going find out what's going on sooner than I think. Just twelve hours from now_, he realized. It wouldn't be long before Harry uncovered the reason for all of this. But, for now, it would seem as if this confusion would have to last just a little bit longer. Of course, with those closest to him off on their own, and his worst enemy at his side, what more was Harry to expect of this day?

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**I always wondered what Ron's life might have been like if his uncle was a professor at Hogwarts. **


	4. Meeting with Dumbledore

**Meeting with Dumbledore**

As the day progressed, Harry found that his day really didn't seem all that different. Certain teachers, namely Snape, still bothered him; classes were tough; and teachers piled loads of homework. But, there were definitely changes. One of the most painstakingly obvious ones was that he and Malfoy actually got along. It was a wonder that Harry wanted an explanation for. Malfoy aside, Defense against the Dark Arts had a different feel to it. Professor Prewett was a fairly liked teacher and brought life into the class. But, he did seem to favor his nephew quite considerably. In fact, Professor Prewett could be likened to Professor Lupin. He was Harry's favorite teacher in that class by far, probably because Lupin was close to his parents during school. Remus Lupin was the one connection Harry had to the parents he never knew.

While Harry sat beside Malfoy in Prewett's class (his last for the day), he was reminded of that day in third year when Fred and George pulled him aside to give Harry the Maurader's Map. He wanted so desperately to attend the Hogsmeade visits with Ron and Hermione that he was willing to do anything, even accept something from the Weasley twins—a dangerous thing—so that he could. Accepting that from the twins had to be the smartest thing Harry ever could have done. The Mararauder's Map had been created by his father and his friends during their own years at Hogwarts. Harry learned more about his parents than he ever would in a lifetime thanks to Lupin teaching third year. It was something he was truly grateful for.

"Mate, what's with you?" Malfoy asked, jabbing an elbow into Harry's side.

"Nothing," Harry mumbled. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Malfoy drawled.

"It's doesn't matter," Harry insisted.

The day soon came to a close and it would be just a few more hours until Harry could speak with Dumbledore regarding the oddities of the situation at hand. Harry _needed_ to understand what was going on around him. As if by magic, everything changed overnight. In the hours prior to his meeting with Dumbledore, Harry sat in the Great Hall pondering this dilemma as he ate. He would look over every so often at Ron or Hermione, praying that one of them would come over and confirm Harry's suspicions about all of this being one of Malfoy's elaborate jokes. Neither did as Harry wanted, and his confusion ensued.

At ten minutes to seven, while everyone else was hanging with friends or something, Harry made his way to Albus Dumbledore's office. When he arrived at the stone gargoyle, Harry grinned. "Black Licorice," he stated as the gargoyle statue shifted and left Harry up to Headmaster's office.

It wasn't long before Harry was faced with the half-moon spectacled Headmaster. Dumbledore's back was facing him and he seemed to be staring out the window. "Mr. Potter, so glad you could come."

"Professor? I was hoping you could explain something to me," Harry explained. "Why I woke up this morning to a world I seem to know nothing about."

Dumbledore turned around, placing a hand on his chin. "Well, that does seem to be quite the dilemma," he said, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. "Come over here, Harry. I want you to look at something."

Harry did as he was asked, a look of confusion on his face. "Sir, what's this about?"

"Look in the window. Tell me what you notice about your reflection," Dumbledore directed.

His gaze shifted from the wise old Headmaster to the window. What Harry saw in the light reflection was merely himself. Whatever the Headmaster saw, Harry could _not_, and it was bugging him. "Sir, I'm not sure what you want me to see."

"Look closer, boy. Up at your forehead," Dumbledore prodded.

Considering this was the great Albus Dumbledore, Harry humored the old man, already knowing what he would find. But, as he examined his reflection closer, it soon became apparent that there was something missing: his scar, the scar Voldemort gave him that night fifteen years before. "My scar, sir...it's...it's..." Harry stammered, struggling to find the right word, mostly a result of the shock from not seeing the scar.

"Gone?" Dumbledore supplied.

"Well, yes," Harry agreed. Over the years, the scar had become a part of who he was. The first few years in school, everyone recognized who Harry was because of the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. As the years passed, people stopped fawning over Harry and he gradually forgot about the scar. He only ever remembered the constant reminder of him being The Chosen One when Voldemort did something and his scar burned. Without it, he felt naked, empty; there were so many words he could use to describe it. But, one that surprisingly crossed his mind was euphoric. A euphoric feeling has glazed over him, just knowing that he never had to suffer when Voldemort was up to no good. "What does this mean, sir? My scar disappearing, I mean?"

Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "We shall save that for another time, my boy, for I would not want you to waste any time that you could easily be spending on your homework. You may go now, Mr. Potter."

Harry curtly nodded and left the Headmaster's office, his finger running over the area that once held his ominous lightning bolt scar. _It's gone_, he realized with a slight smile. He never again needed to worry about what Voldemort was doing to make his scar hurt. Despite this, however, something occurred to Harry. _What does my scar disappearing have to do with the elaborate prank Malfoy has thrust me into_? It seemed that, while he did get a few answers about what was going on, there were about a million other crucial details that Professor Dumbledore left out. He wanted to know everything that was going on, not just part of it.

However, while a part of him wanted to storm back into Dumbledore's office demanding an explanation as to what was going on around him, the other more _reasonable_, the more rational side of Harry knew that Dumbledore would only tell him what was going on when the time came for him to know. That was the way Dumbledore always was, only revealing things on a need-to-know basis. It was just like with Voldemort's past; he was only ever allowed to know so much at a specific point in time. And so, Harry would just need to wait, as much as he really _didn't_ want to. To uncover the true nature of what was going on around him, waiting was all he could do.

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	5. Not an Orphan

**Not an Orphan**

The situation with his scar was mystifying to say the least. After fifteen years, how could his scar have disappeared? It was a permanent fixture on his face, yet now it wasn't there. _What happened?_ Harry wondered as he entered the common room. _It was there yesterday; I know it was._ He slumped down into a chair. There was definitely something going on. His scar was gone. Nothing - not even magic - had been able to erase the lightning bolt scar from his forehead. But, now; it was just gone, without explanation, without warning.

His current situation required more investigation if he was ever to uncover the nature of these mysterious events. And, as much as he didn't want his help, Harry would need to turn to Malfoy. Ron seemed to have turned into Hermione, and Hermione...well, Hermione was in Ravenclaw at the moment. The shock of not seeing his scar caused Harry to forget to inquire about Malfoy's joke and what that was about. The next time that Harry had the opportunity to speak with Dumbledore, he would ask about this. Until then, however, Harry might need Malfoy's help. Draco Malfoy wasn't smart enough to cast a spell to get rid of his scar, so it looked as if this wasn't his doing. But, if not Malfoy - as would be the norm - what happened to cause this?

Things were truly getting out of hand if his scar had mysteriously disappeared. But, what changed? Within the past twenty-four hours, what happened to change just about everything? Harry grumbled something softly before adjourning to his room; a new day would bring a new outlook on this. He needed a new outlook on all of this anyway. With everything that was going on since this morning, all Harry wanted was to get a little sleep, in the hope that things could be seen in a new light. And so, Harry set all of this aside, to pick it up in the morning and figure out what had been going on.

∞

Morning came, and Harry hoped that whatever went on yesterday would have gone, that whatever spell was cast upon him dissipated. He emerged from Gryffindor Tower to find that this was not the case. Malfoy was still there, and he did not seem to back down. Harry growled. "Still?" he muttered.

"Still what?" the blond beside him asked.

"Nothing," Harry shot back. "It _doesn't_ matter."

Before they reached the Great Hall, Malfoy pulled Harry aside. "I really do hope you remember what I told you yesterday." Harry could only nod. "Good, because I don't know if your reputation could handle you getting labeled as crazy too. So, how's Rachel?"

"Rachel?" Harry asked quizzically.

Malfoy's gray eyes bulged. "Your _younger_ sister! Now, really, Harry? How is it that you would forget someone as important as your younger sister? You've always cared more about her than anyone, yet now you forget."

Even with Malfoy's explanation, he was still confused by this. He had no sister. His parents died at Voldemort's hand. No sister could possibly exist that he didn't know about. Should another Potter exist, she'd be living with him at the Dursley's, bearing the brunt of everything Harry had, right alongside him. Since Harry clearly had no memory of such, the Rachel Potter Malfoy claimed to exist did not. Harry shrugged, adjusting his glasses. "Not sure what you're talking about, _Draco_; I have no sister."

Hearing this, Malfoy slammed Harry up against the wall. "Did I not tell you to stop spouting lies?" Malfoy yelled at him angrily. "Of course you have a sister! I've known your family for years; I was around when you found out you had a sister. So, I don't see how you could forget Rachel. Plus, she's _in_ Hogwarts! You see her every day! Now, I realize that she's a third year, but still; that does not give you the right to ignore your sister's existence like that."

Pushing Malfoy off him, Harry headed towards the Great Hall. "Firstly, I have no idea what you're talking about. Secondly, don't _do_ that. Later _Malfoy_!" he called.

As he walked into the Great Hall, Harry laughed as he heard the soft grumblings of Draco Malfoy. He sat down and began chatting with a few friends until the sleek black owl dropped a letter in front him. Since it was normally Hedwig to bring Harry his letters, it was odd to see such a sight. And, when he opened the letter, Harry nearly dropped to the ground at what he saw.

Harry,  
Just wanted to know if you were well. Dumbledore informed us of something that was going on yesterday, and we were worried. From what we were told, you were having a small freak out.

Things have been going well out here. Of course, it has been quiet without you and Rachel around though. Christmas cannot come fast enough so that we may see our babies again. But, so long as you are safe at Hogwarts, we can wait 'til then.

Love,  
Mum and Dad

P.S. Tell Rachel we love her and hope she's doing well.

Seeing that, Harry had to keep himself steady by holding onto the table. Malfoy was _right_. As shocking as that was, he was right. But, even more shocking than that was the fact that this note was from his parents. Such a thing was impossible since Voldemort killed them. This note appeared from beyond the grave, unless..._They're alive! But, how?_ he wondered.

Before Harry could figure out what was going on, how this could happen, he saw an auburn-haired girl with hazel brown eyes come over. "Harry, is that from Mum and Dad?" the girl asked.

Remembering what Malfoy said, Harry could only assume this to be one person: Rachel. He turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, Ray; that was them. They love you, and hope you're doing well."

She nodded. "Okay. See you, Harry." Rachel then turned away and went to sit with her best friend, some girl she called Annie.

Harry then turned back to the letter from his parents, as weird as that sounded. There was something going on here, something that he needed explained to him by Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew what was going on; he knew about this. And, from what Harry could surmise about what was going on, the Headmaster _intended_ on telling Harry about all of this last night. _I need to go speak with Dumbledore about this. He'll know the reason for this occurring. That man knows everything_. So, Harry resolved to speak with him this afternoon, when classes were over. Clearly, he meant to bring this up yesterday, but he didn't.

Crumpling it up, Harry shoved the letter from his parents in his pocket, not wanting deal with this for the moment. Something was going on, and as much Harry wanted to know, it couldn't be done right now. For right now, all that matter was to figure this out. How were his parents alive after Voldemort killed them? What _could_ have happened, and what was the reason for all of this?

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**Since my sister helped me come up with the idea for this story, I thought it only right that she be a character in this story. **


	6. Friends Change Professors Don't

**Friends Change; Professors Don't**

Harry Potter was still in shock from the news he received earlier that day. Clenched in his fist was the note that shouldn't exist, the note from his parents. His parents were _supposed_ to be dead. They were killed by Voldemort on Halloween fifteen years ago. Two years ago when Harry and Voldemort dueled in the graveyard, he recalled seeing his parents' spirits being emitted from Voldemort's wand. That was proof enough that the Potters were dead. So then, if this was the case, how was it possible for Lily and James Potter to be alive, to have sent this message to their son?

And, Rachel? How did Rachel exist? She was thirteen, an impossible feat based on the timeline Harry grew up to know so well. There was no way she should exist when his parents died when he was but a year-old. Any sibling he had would have been a newborn when Voldemort came to murder him, and _would have_ suffered through the Dursleys' wrath right alongside him. However, it was clear to Harry that Rachel showed no signs of having suffered the Dursleys' wrath like he did. She seemed happy, hanging out with her friends Annie and Brianna; Rachel seemed oblivious to the world—and the danger—around her.

Nothing here seemed to make any sense. No one acted as they did two days ago. For two days, everyone at Hogwarts acted as if an opaque veil had been cast in front of them. Only Dumbledore seemed aware of the truth, of how odd everyone seemed to be acting; however, he wasn't saying anything about it, not to Harry nor any of the other students. There was an inexplicable bout of craziness that entered Harry's world in the past week, and he did not like it. Not one bit. His parents _were_ alive; he had a younger sister; his most prominent feature—the lightning bolt scar—was now gone; Ron was now the insufferable know-it-all that Hermione one was; and Hermione…well, Hermione was still an insufferable know-it-all, but the Sorting Hat placed her in Ravenclaw, for whatever reason, so she was _allowed_ to be one.

And, worst of all was the fact that he was friends with Draco Malfoy. After their first meeting in Madame Malkin's, Harry knew there to be no possible way that he and Draco Malfoy would ever become friends. As they each got measured for their robes, Malfoy spent a good chunk of time putting down any wizard who wasn't a Pureblood. Without knowing who his companion was, Malfoy insulted Harry for having a Muggle-born witch for a mother. And, for that comment, Harry chose not to become friends with the stuck-up prat named Draco Malfoy. It was never going to happen; so, how did it? How did the biggest rivals in Hogwarts become friends?

Somehow, his enemy became his closest friend, and his best friend was barely speaking to him. It was madness. In the span of eight hours—the night before all of this occurred—Ron's entire personality shifted. He was no longer the chipper mate whom Harry could _always_ rely on, the kid who would shove everything in his mouth and always have a witty retort handy for when Malfoy appeared. This kid no longer existed; this was no longer the case. It was as if Fabian Prewett's presence influenced Ron's newly-acquired brains, and work ethic. The Ron he knew never cared much for school, preferring to procrastinate with his assignments. That was the position Ron was in the night everything changed, the night Harry's life was seemingly turned upside-down.

But, the bright side was that _at least_ he got to _see_ Ron. Harry barely got to see Hermione the way things were at the moment, her being in Ravenclaw for the moment. With Albus Dumbledore's ingeniously formulated plan to create inter-house unity between the four houses, Gryffindor was often paired with Slytherin for classes. It was a half-baked idea, to say the least, for it was since the days of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin in which the rivalry existed. Nothing would ever change that. Any attempt to change that was a futile effort; but still Dumbledore tried. Gryffindors and Slytherins were paired for classes while Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws attended classes together. This made seeing Hermione, let alone conversing with one of his closest friends a near impossible feat. And, even if he could find a way to speak with Hermione, Harry felt sure she'd turn away. After the outburst in the Great Hall, he knew it would happen.

The note from his parents balled up in his fist, Harry paced the common room a few times before slumping into the nearest chair. He was sick of this, sick of not being able to understand what happened to his life. Answers; that was all he wanted, all he craved. Right now, however, it seemed as if waiting was all he could do. "What is happening in my life? How could my life have become this?" he wondered aloud.

A gruff voice soon filled Harry's ears, a voice he never thought he'd hear ever again. "What are you blathering on about?" Ron asked, peering over at Harry from his place on the couch where he was reading.

Never expecting to hear the voice of his best friend ever again, Harry's head shot up. He smiled briefly at the red-head he _once_ called his friend. Something happened to change the nature of their friendship, and it was unclear as to what it was. There were times where Harry still believed it to be Malfoy's doing, but there was no way for him to change _everything_ that happened. No spell, no enchantment could be used to bring his parents back to life—that much he knew. Malfoy _surprisingly **was not**_ responsible for all of this as Harry initially surmised. But, he might still be responsible for Ron's new personality, and Hermione's place in Ravenclaw.

"Ron," he said with a smile, "you have no idea as to how good it is to hear your voice. The past few days have been miserable without you and Hermione around. I hate not having you around."

"Sorry, but do I know you?" Ron inquired in confusion.

Harry nodded. "You should. Ron, you're my best friend. Since the day we met on the train six years ago, we've been inseparable. If not for you, I might have died trying to get through the transfigured Wizard Chess mess, and Quirrell would have succeeded in acquiring the Sorcerer's Stone for Voldemort; Ginny might be locked in the Chamber of Secrets forever; we never would have discovered that Scabbers was Wormtail, or Peter Pettigrew, whichever you prefer; I might never have made it through the Tri-Wizard Tournament, or watched as Voldemort reclaimed his body; Lucius Malfoy would have succeeded in getting the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries," Harry explained, recounting the past five years' adventures. "Ron, there's no telling what would have happened if you and I never became friends on our way to Hogwarts."

Dropping the book so that it landed facedown on the floor, Ron scoffed. "You're obviously delusional. I have no idea who you are, and certainly have no clue what you're referring to. I've never been a part of anything like that, and am most certainly not friends with the likes of _you_. In fact, aside from books—and my uncle—I have no friends. You must have me confused with some other friend of yours: maybe Malfoy, that slimy git."

"How could you think I'm friends with _him_? I hate the ferret as much as you do. Ron, you know that!" Harry exclaimed. "There's no way I could ever be friends with him, not ever!"

"I'd believe that, if you weren't friends with the boy. Makes things hard to believe," Ron stated.

Harry's emerald green eyes were wide. He could not comprehend how Ron would think that Harry James Potter could ever be friends with a Malfoy. Nothing in Malfoy's personality ever indicated that he would ever have any _real_ friends; he was incapable of such a thing. Malfoy cared only for himself; no other person ever mattered to him. "No way, Ron! I could never be friends with a self-serving git like Draco Malfoy."

Ron removed his book from the floor. "Don't care. And, besides…" Before he was able to finish, the ornate grandfather clock sitting in the corner of Gryffindor common room chimed ten times. Harry gathered up his effects and headed downstairs. It was time for Charms. But, Harry knew that not even Charms could occupy his mind, prevent him from thinking of his current situation. What was worse was attending double Potions after lunch. He was forced to sit beside Malfoy as Snape gave a brief speech about importance of brewing Amortentia—the love potion—correctly.

Harry was most definitely not in the mood to brew Amortentia; he preferred to brew Veritaserum instead. But, with the Ministry's regulations on truth serum, there was no way for Harry to use the Veritaserum to confirm whether or not Malfoy was responsible for Ron's and Hermione's new attitudes. With Harry's boredom level increasing, he could barely pay attention. His involvement was but a hindrance; so when Snape ordered them to brew Amortentia, Harry allowed Malfoy to do so on his own. Under normal circumstances, Harry never would have trusted Malfoy to do his work. But, he had no choice; his focus was split.

While Malfoy was busy chopping ingredients, Harry's mind wandered to one of the reasons Harry despised Malfoy so much. If not for Lucius Malfoy wanting the prophecy from the Department on Mysteries, Harry would never have lost his godfather. Sirius Black died to keep Harry safe, and he blamed the entire Malfoy family for that gut-wrenching loss. Sirius was closest thing Harry had to family with his parents gone; with the events at the Ministry, he lost that as well.

"Professor, there's a student not doing his work." A voice jolted Harry from his mind and he searched around for whom the voice belonged to.

"Who is it, Weasley?" Snape's voice boomed.

Harry's stomach dropped, his bottom lip trembled in anticipation of Ron's answer. _Surely, he wouldn't rat me out, would he?_ "It's Potter." _Yes he would._ Ron truly had changed if he would rat his best friend out to the least-liked teacher in the school.

"Potter!" Snape bellowed. "Detention!"

"What else is new?" Harry mumbled.

"That's another!" Snape yelled. "Would you care for to make it a third?"

Harry knew better than to answer Snape's question. If he were to answer the question, he was sure to receive another detention, he could not afford to waste anymore time than he already had. So, Harry kept his mouth shut, and turned back to Malfoy to kept Snape's wrath at bay. "Good. Now, get to work! Mr. Malfoy should _not_ be doing all of your work for you!"

After Snape moved on, Malfoy elbowed Harry. "What was _that_ about? I thought you were over that whole bout of confusion and spouting out lies."

"I thought I was too," Harry lied.

"Then, what was that display a few moments ago?" Malfoy asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with the situation at hand," Harry stated.

"You better!" Malfoy grumbled. "I no longer wish to hear anything out of the ordinary that leads back to you."

As Malfoy went back to chopping ingredients, Harry glared at Ron. How could Ronald Bilius Weasley have become so cruel that he'd turn against his own friend? It was truly unbelievable that things could have gotten this out of hand.


	7. Detention

**Detention**

Although it was not particularly something Harry wished to do, he did as Malfoy asked of him and stopped spouting what _Malfoy_ deemed lies. It was easier said than done since Harry had no way of knowing the difference between the two. Without prior knowledge of what was real in _this_ world, Harry would have to rely on Malfoy to help him; whenever Harry did something out of the ordinary, it was Malfoy who would scold him for what he was doing wrong.

This, in and of itself, was beyond cruel. He hated having to rely on his enemy for help with this. So, Harry made a concentrated effort to keep out of trouble, consequently avoiding Malfoy as much as he possibly could. Before Harry knew it, Saturday had come, and so did a note Harry was dreading.

Potter  
Your first detention shall be served tonight at 7. Please report to the Great Hall at that time. Do not be late.

Snape

Harry balled the note up in his fist and glared across the table where Ron Weasley sat, pouring over a two foot-long scroll. Ron may have been his best friend, but having Fabian Prewett in the halls of the school changed him; he was no longer Harry's friend. No friend of Harry's would rat him out to Snape for not doing his work. If anyone, Malfoy would have done that. But, this was not the case, a fact which surprised him. After all the years of hating each other, it was surprisingly Malfoy who was Harry's true friend through all of this. Not Ron. Not Hermione. Malfoy.

Not wanting to think of this anymore than he had, Harry left the Great Hall, finding he could not stand to be around Ron after what he did. As he went by, Harry looked to the Ravenclaw table, hoping to catch Hermione's eye. Over the past few days, Harry had wanted to speak with Hermione, but never could. Ever since the incident that first day, Hermione had avoided Harry like the plague. Out of everything that Harry lost through this spell, coupled with everything that occurred thus far during the week, it was Hermione's friendship that Harry seemed to miss the most at the moment. She was the voice of reason in their group, and SHE probably would be able to uncover the cause of this life Harry found so confusing.

Ultimately, he missed having Ron and Hermione around. Ever since first year, they were the ones to help Harry face the perils year after year. If not for them, Harry's life would have been way worse than it had been. Voldemort might have succeeded in his plans. With Ron's and Hermione's help, Harry was always able to destroy him. Without them by his side, things would _never_ be the same. Dean, Seamus, and Malfoy could never truly fill the spots in Harry's life that were so recently vacated by Ron and Hermione. No one, no matter how hard they tried, would ever compare to them.

Since Hermione was nowhere to be found at the moment, Harry had no choice but to go out and look for her. He needed her help to figure out why all of this was happening to him. Hermione might be the only one who could help him figure this out, since he and Ron were not on good terms. "Okay, library first; if anywhere, that's where she would be," Harry acknowledged. Even if Malfoy altered their lives, there was no way he could change their personalities, not _that_ much. So, Hermione would still love disappearing to the library, despite being a Ravenclaw. Considering that it was usually Ravenclaws that were the more studious and homework-oriented, it made sense that Hermione was placed in Ravenclaw, even if it was some cruel joke Malfoy set forth to confuse Harry.

To Harry's own shock, he found no sign of Hermione. She _wasn't_ in the library. But, if she wasn't there, where could she possibly be? The library was the most logical place for Hermione to be yet she wasn't there, so there was no telling as to where Harry might find his friend. "Damn it!" he mumbled so Madam Pince wouldn't hear him. "She's not here. Where though? Where could Hermione be?"

If not in the library, Harry needed to search for Hermione. She had to be somewhere. The question was where? Knowing Hermione though, it would never be the Quidditch Pitch; the one thing Hermione seemed to hate made than failing, or close to it, was flying. It was actually the only thing Harry and Ron were better at than Hermione. So, there was no chance of catching Hermione at the Quidditch Pitch. But, the rest of the school was fair game. The question was where? Where had Hermione secluded herself that Harry wouldn't find her?

Dashing out of the library, careful not to make a noise and bother Madam Pince, Harry searched for any of sign of Hermione. In each place Harry searched though, he found no sign of her. _Maybe the grounds,_ Harry wondered. _She may not be on the Quidditch Pitch, but there's a chance she might be somewhere else_. So, Harry hurried outside to look for Hermione.

While on his way out there, Harry bumped into a third year Hufflepuff, his sister: Rachel Potter. Aside from Malfoy, his sister was the last person Harry had been hoping to bump into. Rachel's existence was a constant reminder of the fact that the world he was living in had something terribly wrong with it. That was the last thing he needed. All he wanted was to go out and look for Hermione, so that he had a chance at figuring out what was happening to him, what Malfoy seemed to have caused.

Harry did his best to avoid his younger sister, but it was to no avail. Rachel tugged on his sleeve, eventually pulling him back towards her. "Hey, Harry, what are you doing?"

"You don't want to know," Harry intoned, pulling out of his sister's grip so he could continue his search for Hermione.

"Of course I do," Rachel insisted. "Come on; tell me, Harry. Maybe I can help you."

"I doubt that," Harry mumbled. "Look, Rachel, I appreciate the gesture, I really do; however, there's no way you could help. You're a mere third year and the person I'm looking for is a sixth year. Sorry, Rachel, but I don't think you can help me with this."

"Maybe I can though," Rachel argued. "Just tell me who you're looking for and I'll tell you if I can help."

Though he seriously doubted that his younger sister would be of much use in locating Hermione, he supposed it would hurt to try. What did he have to lose by telling her? Not asking her might even turn out to be a bad thing since Rachel could hold some piece of information he needed that no one else knew of. "Granger. Hermione Granger," he told his sister.

Upon hearing that name, Rachel's hazel eyes widened. "I thought as much. Look, Harry, I've got to go."

The reason for his sister's abrupt departure was not only not known to Harry, but not needed. Her disappearing like that allowed Harry to continue his search for Hermione, for finding her had become a necessity. So, Harry headed out to the grounds, hoping that he might be able to locate that ever elusive Hermione Granger.

∞

Harry was beyond pissed as he sat down to dinner that night. After a full day of searching, he still had not found where Hermione might be hiding. The closest he came to seeing Hermione was at meals, but there was no way to approach her, at least not without Malfoy lurking somewhere nearby. So, he slumped down into his seat rather dejected to eat.

Dinner was a rather subdued affair, at least where Harry was concerned. He refused to speak with anyone, just knowing that anyone who wished to speak with him would _not_ be one of his two best friends. At the end of dinner, Harry looked up to see that Hermione had already gone; he had no chance of going after her. Consequently, Harry left the Great Hall and headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Maybe some peace and quiet would do him some good before sitting through the sheer torture that was Snape's detention.

Unfortunately, Harry never made it to the Gryffindor common room. A hand pulled him back before he could get there. Spinning around, Harry soon found Malfoy staring back at him. "What is it, _Draco_?"

Malfoy scowled. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, unsure of what his _friend_ was even referring to.

"You're looking into things that I warned you not to. I heard from a reliable source that you're looking for someone, someone I know for a fact that you're not even friends with," Malfoy warned. "Harry, you were told time and time again that you were not to keep doing this. Since the beginning of the week, you haven't been yourself and I, for one, am sick of it. It's high time you started acting that way again and forgetting this outlandish fascination with acting out."

The minute Malfoy began talking, a million thoughts came rushing to Harry's head. The most prevalent was also the most obvious. _How did he find out?_ Harry had taken great care to ensure that Draco Malfoy would never find out what he was doing. All the people he asked regarding Hermione's whereabouts were people Harry was sure would not rat him out; he was sure that this wouldn't get back to Malfoy. Clearly, he was mistaken. Someone told. But, who? Harry groaned. "You're not my keeper, Draco. I can do what I want. It is, after all, _my_ life. You have no say in what I do with my life. So, mind your own business." Harry was almost going to walk away before remembered one other thing he wanted to know. "And, anyway, who is this reliable source of yours? I doubt there is anyone in the school you seem trustworthy enough to take their word for something that happened."

"Oh, it was…"

Malfoy never got the chance to tell Harry who it was, for a booming voice interrupted them. "Potter!" Snape bellowed. "Your detention starts in two minutes. Come with me."

Before Harry could follow the Potions Master, Malfoy grabbed hold of him. "We're not done here. After your detention, you and I are going to finish this little talk, so I can get it through to you that you should not be doing this."

"Whatever, _Draco_," Harry muttered.

"Potter, now!" Snape yelled.

Harry quickly hurried after Snape, wondering what this bout of detention would consist of. Usually it was would be scrubbing cauldrons _without magic_ or something to that effect. But, what would it be this time. "Uh, sir, what will be doing for my detention tonight?"

Snape growled. "I would normally have you helping me in the dungeon, but I already have several students helping me down there. So, I shall have you clean the next best thing. You, Potter, will be cleaning the _entire_ Trophy Room, without magic. It has become rather filthy since last cleaned."

Harry's mood brightened. Although he would still be cleaning, the Trophy Room was a better alternative to the dungeon. And, Harry had not been there since he and Ron were given awards for special services to the school in ensuring that Voldemort and his dreaded basilisk did not kill any of the muggleborns that would force Hogwarts to close down forever. That would be a fantastic sight to see. So, Harry trudged after Snape, hoping to get a look at the award he suffered for during his second year.

Upon reaching the Trophy Room, Snape conjured up some cleaning supplies and dropped them at Harry's feet. "Filch will stop by in an hour to check on your progress. I suggest you start."

As Snape retreated back to his dungeon, Harry rushed over to the trophy case to look for his and Ron's awards. He searched high and low for the award that bore his name, but found that there was none, at least not here. In fact, as he searched through the awards, Harry noticed something rather peculiar. In his second year, Harry recalled Ron telling him of one of the detentions he received for the flying car incident. It occurred shortly after the slug incident, which ultimately forced Ron to clean a particular award several times. And, it was this same award which Harry noticed to be inconspicuously absent from the room. The award for special services to the school—the one received by framing Hagrid—was not there. And, that award belonged to one Tom Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort himself.


	8. Gone

**Gone**

Harry was thoroughly confused. From the story he remembered, Ron mentioned that Tom Marvolo Riddle—the boy who would become Voldemort—had an award here for Special Services to the school. Yet, the award in question was not here. _Would he lie? Would Ron lie to me about that award?_ At the moment, it seemed plausible. Ron already turned on him; it was because of Ron that he was even here in the first place. Ron turned on him and it seemed as if he could no longer trust the boy he once considered his best friend. So, maybe he was lying; maybe Ron was desperately seeking the attention he craved at home and saw fit to lie to him and Hermione about the award Riddle received for saving the school.

But, the problem was that this explanation still didn't explain where his and Ron's awards were, the ones received for Special Services to the school for preventing the Heir of Slytherin from attacking the muggleborns. In fact, _that_ was the same thing that Voldemort received his award for when he framed Hagrid. And, Dumbledore even said they would be given awards for what happened down in the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore would _never_ lie to him, not about something like this. Where then were the awards?

Given everything that happened thus far, it was clear to Harry that another meeting with Dumbledore was necessary. Dumbledore was sure to have the answers he was looking for. No one else seemed willing to help him; Malfoy clearly thought he was crazy; Ron was teacher's pet; Hermione wouldn't even go near him; and his sister seemed to be no help at all. All his sister was doing was getting in the way. And, it could not be more irritating.

As he scrubbed each trophy until it shone, Harry could think of nothing save the mysterious disappearance of these awards. Where could they have disappeared to? Upon diligently scrubbing half the awards in the room, Harry heard footsteps headed straight for him. The sponge fell from his hand and splashed into the bucket of soapy water just as Filch and Mrs. Norris walked in. "I don't see you working. Shall I assign you _more_ work?"

Harry retrieved the sponge and shook his head. "No, sir. You just spooked me. I thought you were someone else. There's no need for you to give me more to clean," Harry insisted.

Filch began grumbling something before turning to the cat. "Come, Mrs. Norris. Maybe we can find some misbehaving children out of bed, just waiting to be caught in the act," he murmured.

Once Filch was gone along with the yellow-eyed cat, Harry returned to his cleaning. The sooner the job was done, the sooner Harry could return to Gryffindor Tower and deal with the fact that Ron lied to him. Maybe there was a reason for what happened. If Harry could get Ron to act civilly towards him, he might be able to understand why Ron felt the need to lie to him. Then, there was also the odd disappearance of his and Ron's awards, awards that Dumbledore swore they would receive. No thanks to Lockhart and Lucius Malfoy, Harry and Ron were able to ensure that the basilisk was destroyed and the school remained open.

An hour and a half went by before Harry was permitted to return to Gryffindor Tower; he was under order to go directly there, with _no_ detours. Harry, to his own surprise, followed that order knowing that Malfoy wished to continue their conversation from before. Upon giving the password, Harry entered the Gryffindor Common Room only to find Ron hunched over what looked like an Arithmancy book. "How was detention, Potter?" he asked, not bothering to look up.

"Dreadful," Harry grumbled.

"Good!" Ron exclaimed. "Serves you right for not doing your work."

Harry glared at the red-head angrily. After all that happened earlier in the week, Ron had the gall to lecture him about following the rules. Since when did Ron Weasley care about the rules and rigidly follow them like Hermione always wanted to. "And, who are you to tell me what _I'm _allowed to do?" he asked. "You're not the boss of me. And, if I recall, it was _you_ who stated that you'd never want to be friends with me because of my association with Malfoy. So, unless you intend on becoming my friend, I suggest that you mind your own business." After that, Harry stormed away, not caring what Ron had to say next.

"Potter!" Ron yelled. "Get back here!"

Harry ignored him and went to his room. After what he did, Ron didn't deserve to speak to Harry. Ron didn't care about what Harry was dealing with. Neither did anyone else, but Ron was different. Thanks to Malfoy's influence, Ron turned on him and cared only for himself. Flopping down on his four post bed, Harry smothered his face in a pillow. _I need to find out what's going on. There must be some explanation as to why those awards simply aren't there. _

A bright pinkish hue from the sunrise peeked through the curtains to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. That was what woke Harry up the following morning. Thankfully, he remembered it to be Sunday, so Harry had the chance to come up with some answers, to understand why everything he remembered about his life became so altered. It was a terrible thing waking up in a world you knew nothing about. And, that was exactly how Harry felt, lost and confused as he was at the beginning of first year when the magic world was all new to him. He would not allow it to occur again. So, he resolved to speak with Dumbledore the first chance he got. When first he spoke of these strange occurrences to Dumbledore, he seemed quite willing to provide answers. But, the disappearance of the scar side-tracked him and a lot of the questions Harry had were left unanswered.

It was without a shadow of a doubt that Harry was sure he'd find the answers he searched for in his next meeting with Dumbledore. The Headmaster knew more than he was letting on and Harry knew it. All he had to do was seek the answers. Harry pulled himself out of bed and prepared himself for the day; he'd try to speak with Dumbledore about the matter immediately following breakfast.

Taking great care to avoid Ron as he went through the Gryffindor common room, Harry headed down to the Great Hall. During much of breakfast, Harry would cast a glance up at the staff table, keeping an eye on the Headmaster so he could speak with him. After what he realized last night, Harry was positively sure of the fact that he could not wait to speak with someone about the abnormalities he was seeing this past week. It might even get worse if left unattended as everyone else was doing. And, that was not something that Harry wanted to see happen. Since first entering Hogwarts five years, Harry spent year after year dealing with the effects of Voldemort's plans. He would not allow it to happen again. This time, Harry was going to do something about it _before_ anything else could happen.

Most of breakfast was peaceful, as no one bothered to speak with Harry. He wanted seclusion and that was usually what he got. Though he hoped it would continue, Harry found that he got no such thing. "Harry, what's with you?" Seamus asked. "You seem so different these days."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Seamus," Harry intoned.

"You sure, Harry?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Seamus shrugged. "Okay," he said, turning back to the Dean.

_That was close,_ Harry thought, returning to his breakfast. He could not have anyone find out what was going on, not after that first day. Memories of that first day came flooding back to Harry, when he was confused about the fact that Neville was in Hufflepuff and Hermione in Ravenclaw. Seeing them in a house other than Gryffindor confused the hell out of him and Harry was not about to let that happen again. He was going to make sure that didn't happen again.

Breakfast ended a short time later and Harry made a beeline for the Headmaster's office. So as to avoid Malfoy and the impending lecture he'd get from him, Harry decided to do this now. If he waited any longer than he was, Harry would only spend the entire day worrying about what was happening. And, it wasn't like he had anything more to do that day. So, Harry hurried off to Headmaster's office to find out why the life he was living was one he knew nothing about. Before he could get there, however, Malfoy stepped in his path. "Harry, we didn't finish our talk from last night," he stated. "Now, you have some explaining to do."

"About what?" Harry asked.

Malfoy crossed his arms. "We went over this last night. Why are you looking for someone I know you're not friends with? I know for a fact that you barely tolerate each other and yet here I find out that you're looking for her. I can only wonder what that reason is."

"I'm not sure who you mean," Harry stated.

"Granger!" Malfoy yelled. "From the first day you met her, you pulled me aside and told me that there was absolutely no way that you would learn to get along with Hermione Granger. If this is the case, why is that I find you going out to try and speak with her, for whatever reason?"

Harry stood there shell-shocked. He knew there was something going on, but he never suspected that both his friends would have led very different lives if he never became friends with them. And, the worst part of this whole situation was that he had no idea why. For the time being, he was utterly clueless as to the reason behind his friends' sudden change in attitude. Some things had not changed all that much—Seamus and Dean—while his two closest friends seemed to have stopped speaking to him completely. "I really don't know what you're talking about, Draco. I'm utterly clueless," Harry explained.

"_Sure you are_," Malfoy muttered. "I'll believe that when I see it."

It was no surprise that Malfoy wasn't going to believe him. After the way Harry was acting towards him, why would he? Sure he hadn't been acting like himself, but that was only because he had no idea as to what was occurring around him. Not like he could tell anyone about that, for no one would ever believe him. Dumbledore seemed to, but no one else ever would. Anyone else he told his story would only think him crazy. He had already spent a week in this crazy messed-up world and he was no closer to uncovering the reason for any of it. "Why not go ask Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "I'm sure he could tell you."

"Dumbledore?" Malfoy asked. "What would _he_ know?"

"He knows what's going on," Harry explained.

"I really don't see how Dumbledore would know why you're acting so strange," Malfoy argued. "The teachers—that old fool especially—barely pay attention to anything going on in the school; they only care when something happens. I doubt any of them would ever know why you've been acting so weird; and that goes especially for Dumbledore. Now, why don't we deal with this on our own and move on with our lives? I am not in any mood to go around asking teachers if they know why you've been acting so strange all week."

Harry shook his head. "No way! I came to speak with Dumbledore about this. He knows what's going on and would be willing to tell me. He probably would have told me sooner if he could, but I think there was something stopping him. So, I'm going to find out. And, if you want to know what's going on as well, you might want to come with me. Maybe you'll learn something."

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" Malfoy asked.

"Not really," Harry insisted.

"Fine. Whatever," Malfoy groaned.

Harry led Malfoy over to the stone gargoyle. "Black licorice," Harry said. He guessed that the password would not be changed, not for the next few days. Based on past experiences, the password would only ever change every third week. And, he was quite sure of the fact that it would not be done yet.

"And, how do you know the password?" Malfoy asked.

"Because I've been here within the past week," Harry explained. "I told you before that I came here a little while ago asking Dumbledore for answers. I got some, but not all. After a week of confusion, I am not about to go another week without answer. Now, come on, _Draco_."

Rapping softly on the door to the Headmaster's office after leading Malfoy upstairs, Harry began shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Nervous?" Malfoy taunted. "What could you have to be nervous about?"

"Everything!" Harry retorted. "You don't know what's it's like to wake up in a world you have no idea about to find that your worst enemy is now your best friend. So, keep quiet, _Malfoy_!"

"Haven't I told you about calling me by my last name?" Malfoy shouted, pounding his fist against the wall. "I don't want to hear that word uttered from your mouth in my presence. Not ever!"

"Why not?" Harry inquired.

"You have your secrets; I have mine," Malfoy shot back. "And, whereas you may be willing to talk about your problems, I most definitely am not. Now, if you want me to learn about what you find so strange about this world, I suggest that you lead the way, Harry."

The door to the Headmaster's office swung open and the two teens were instantly swept into the room. "Mr. Potter. Mr. Malfoy. To what do I owe this visit?" Dumbledore queried.

"I need some answers," Harry stated.

"And you, Mr. Malfoy?" the Headmaster asked.

"I need proof of what my friend is claiming," Malfoy stated.

Dumbledore nodded. "What do you need to know?"

"Everything," Harry said.

"Such as?" he inquired.

Harry took a deep breath and began to list off some of the strange things that he had been during the past week. "When I was last in here I told you that I woke up to a world I knew nothing about. Thanks to friends who don't believe me," Harry shot a look at Malfoy, "I am _still_ clueless as to how this world is different from my own. Would you to explain? I must know how the world I currently am in is different from my own. I need answers."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, a sliver of a smile peeking through. "Well, where shall we start?" he asked, looking back at forth between Harry and Draco. "What do you think is the most important thing that must be explained?"

"Sir, I need to know what happened to the timeline." Harry inquired. "Before waking up in this world, I was sitting with Hermione and Ron in the Gryffindor common room. I went to bed and the next thing I know, I'm here. I've been trying to understand what happened, but with no help whatsoever from the people who claim to care about me; I am left dealing with this on my own. And, anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I am not good with things of that nature; Hermione was always there to help me through it; so was Ron."

"Tell me, Harry, the night before you came here; was there anything unusual about that night, something you might have said on that night that you've never mentioned on any other occasion?"

Harry thought back on that night, the night before everything in his world changed. He had been sitting in the Gryffindor common room talking—or rather ranting—to Ron and Hermione about everything that was wrong with his life: Voldemort, Malfoy's odd behavior, and the Ministry. But, when his scar started burning, that was when Harry adjourned to his bedroom. "That night," Harry remembered, "it was the last night my scar hurt. It was on that night that my scar disappeared."

Dumbledore nodded. "Harry, my boy, I think I know what happened."


	9. Explanations

**Explanations**

A weak smile appeared on Harry's face when Dumbledore said he knew what happened to cause this. There had been no doubt in Harry's mind that Dumbledore would know why he was here. Now was his chance to find out. "Sir, what happened then?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Potter, you have been offered a glimpse," Dumbledore explained. "This is a glimpse of what your life might have been like if Voldemort never existed. For fifteen years, you have dealt with this menace destroying your life. Now is your chance to find out what your life might have been like if Voldemort never stepped in and ruined what you had the chance of getting."

Harry thought back once again on that last night before stepping into this world. He did vaguely recall thinking about Voldemort, if only for a brief second. A flash of that night came to Harry. _What would have happened if Voldemort never existed? What might have happened if Tom Riddle Sr. and Merope Gaunt never had a child together? _"Yeah, I remember that. In fact, it was my last thought before drifting to sleep and then waking up here."

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled in realization. "Mr. Potter, I believe you may have stumbled upon the very reason for your being here. That was your final thought before going to bed. And, if my calculations are correct, you thought that just as a shooting star went by, thus granting your wish. You were brought here to fulfill said wish. That's why you're here."

"And, _if _I wanted to get back?" he asked.

"_That_ I cannot be sure of," Dumbledore stated.

Harry groaned. He was afraid of that. It was not something he wanted to hear. After spending a week in this world without anyone one his side, Harry was a bit wary of accepting any help. Malfoy didn't seem to care and Dumbledore gave him very little to work with. Then again, Dumbledore never was one to be very forthcoming with any information. "Sir, I need answers; I need to understand exactly what's been going on around me."

"And, Mr. Malfoy will be helping you with that," the Headmaster stated, gesturing to Harry's companion. "Mr. Malfoy, you may not believe your friend's story, but he is telling the truth. If you want the friend you remember back, you'll have to help him recover those memories. He knows nothing of this world, only what's different about it from his own."

"But, sir!" Malfoy argued.

"No, Mr. Malfoy. This is nonnegotiable," the Headmaster intoned. "You must explain everything about your lives from the time Harry was a year-old; he must be re-educated about his own life."

"Yes, sir," Malfoy grumbled.

"Good. Now, I will bring you both back in here in ten days time. By then, Harry should be fully aware of the fifteen years he missed. You may go now, boys," Dumbledore stated.

The two teens emerged from Dumbledore's office, both for very different reasons. For Harry, he was upset over the fact that he had to continue relying on Malfoy for help with this. For Malfoy, he was pissed about having to re-educate his friend on his entire life. Neither boy would ever admit though, especially when they had no choice in the matter. "Exactly what type of world _do _you live in?" Malfoy inquired upon emerging from the Headmaster's office.

Harry glanced over Malfoy. "Oh, so _now_ you believe me?"

Malfoy shrugged. "What else am I supposed to do?" he asked. "Dumbledore's giving me no choice in the matter. I'm being forced to deal with something I have no patience to spend my time on. Now, exactly what type of world do you live in that makes it so different from this one?"

"I live in a world where a dark wizard named Voldemort wishes to kill all muggleborns and Muggles because his father was a Muggle. Where I come from, Gryffindors and Slytherins don't ever get along; my best friend is Ronald Weasley and _you're _my enemy," Harry explained. "To wake up in a world where I live a completely different life; well, it confused me. Now, explain."

For a minute or two, Harry could hear Malfoy muttering something to himself. It was nothing of great importance, so Harry barely paid any attention to what was said. He swore he heard Malfoy mention the words transform, Marauders, and pranks, but he could have been mistaken. One thought immediately came to mind, but he was sure _that _wouldn't happen. There was no way that something like that could happen; _not ever. It couldn't be._ "How did we become friends?" Harry asked. This was a question that could not wait, a question that bothered him all week. "In my world, we're enemies. But, how did we become friends?"

"My mother," Malfoy answered simply.

"Your mother?" Harry asked.

Malfoy nodded. "Surely, in your world, you came to realize something about someone close to you, something you never would have suspected if you weren't told. I'm sure you know this."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry knew that what Malfoy said was true. There was a voice in the back of his head telling him it was the truth. _Trust him. Think of Sirius. _Harry racked his head and remembered what he needed. "Of course! Black! Your mother is my godfather's cousin."

"Now you're using your head," Malfoy intoned.

While that explained their friendship—something he should have realized on his own after Sirius showed him the tapestry at Grimmauld Place just before the start of fifth year—Harry knew that there was much more that needed to be told. There was so much more to this story; of that Harry was sure. "You're not telling me everything," Harry cautioned. "Now, spill!"

"Everything?" Malfoy asked.

Harry nodded. "Everything."

Once again, Malfoy began muttering to himself. This time, however, Harry heard nothing of what his _friend_ was saying. "Fine," Malfoy said. "Follow me." The pair traversed the emptied corridors before Harry realized where they were: the statue of the one-eyed witch, the very same one that concealed the secret passage into Honeydukes. Before Harry could say a word, Malfoy tapped his wand to the statue. "Dissendium." He then turned to face Harry. "Come on; let's go."

Harry could say nothing; all he could do was stare in wonder. How did Malfoy know of that passageway? No one save Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins knew of the secret passageways into Hogsmeade. "How…?"

"Later; now, come on," Malfoy insisted.

Utterly confused, Harry followed Malfoy down into the Honeydukes basement. Once there, Harry leaned up against a stack of crates, arms crossed. "Okay. Now, I want an explanation. And, tell me _everything_; leave out no details. You can start with life before Hogwarts."

Malfoy paled considerably and looked to his feet. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea," he said. "There are certain things we don't speak of, and for good reason. I don't want it mentioned."

While he understood that Malfoy wanted some secrets, Harry needed to know what this world was like. "Sorry. I hate to be the one who must resurface old wounds, but it's for a good cause. If not for my unfamiliarity with _this_ world, you wouldn't be faced with that. Of course, I can only wonder what might have caused you to repulse your last name so fiercely."

"I cannot even bring myself to say," Malfoy retorted.

"Why not?" Harry inquired.

"Because it's not something I like to speak of," he muttered.

"Any particular reason for that?" he wondered.

"Of course!" Malfoy yelled. "And, as I said before, I really don't wish to speak about the matter. It's _my _situation to deal with,on my_ own _terms. So, back off, Harry. I don't want to talk about."

"Fine; but, I think you're doing yourself a great disservice in not talking about it," Harry explained. After seeing the confused look on Malfoy's face, Harry clarified even further. "I always felt much better after talking to Ron and Hermione about my problems. Surely, there must be someone who you can rely on without hesitation and tell your problems to. You can't have gone through life without one. In fact, _that_ could be the very reason that the Malfoy of my world turned to darkness like his father; he never had any _real_ friends, only people who could help him."

"Well, _there_ is, but he can't help me," he said.

"Who?" Harry asked.

"I'd normally turn to _you_," Malfoy explained.

"Just tell me anyway," Harry prodded. "It's not like you have anyone else to talk with about this about. I don't suppose you've ever really talked about it with anyone from Slytherin."

"Not really; not as in depth as the conversations I've had with you," Malfoy replied. "Not many people even know of what happened anyway, at least not within the school. Family and close friends know what happened; no one else though and I intend to keep it that way."

"Okay? So, what happened?" Harry inquired.

"When I was five, I went into the parlor to go find my mother. However, just before I could, I spotted something I wish I could reverse; I watched as my father and aunt tortured my mother to death."

* * *

**Author's Note: Finally Harry is getting some answers. And Draco has revealed a part of his life that few even know about. How will things turn out for the boys? **

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	10. Showing Me A World I Never Knew

**Showing Me A World I Never Knew**

Harry stood there stunned. He had no idea that something like that had happened. How could he? It seemed though, that Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange would never change, no matter what the circumstances. And, it affected Malfoy in a profound way, by destroying his only support system: his mother. Harry knew how he felt, to have lost a mother; back in his own world, Lily Potter sacrificed herself to save Harry. At the moment, he could only speculate the reasons for Narcissa's death. "If Narcissa died, what happened to you?"

After a split-second hesitation—barely noticeable—Malfoy spoke. "Somehow, I was able to escape unseen and got a message out to the Ministry regarding what I witnessed. Father and Aunt Bella went to Azkaban for a few years and _I_ went to live with my closest living relative: Aunt Andromeda. Through her tutelage—and spending time with Mother's cousin Sirius—Father's lessons were counteracted. It's how I became friends with you; Sirius had to play babysitter one day during the summer when Aunt Andromeda and I stopped by. We became great friends after that, even despite the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry that existed.

"I seem to recall the first year and a half of our years at Hogwarts was spent ensuring that the friendship we had lasted throughout our Hogwarts years; and, thus far, it's worked. Once third year came, we started our true reason for entering Hogwarts; I will not get into that just yet, but know that you'll find out soon. I just have to gather a few people in order to explain _that._ It's important for you to hear this from everyone who cares about you," Malfoy said, beginning to fiddle around with something in his pocket. Harry couldn't tell what it was and didn't worry about it for the moment since he was much more focused on figuring out how this world was so different from his own. "If you know nothing of this world—for reasons I will never comprehend—all of your friends should be here to explain this." The next part was muttered under his breath. "She isn't going to like this, but I have to do it."

Harry wondered what Malfoy meant by this comment. Since he knew nothing of this world, there was really no telling as to what Malfoy might be talking about. _Come on, Malfoy; tell me what's going on. _Harry mentally slapped himself. _Am I really starting to rely on _Malfoy_ for help in dealing with this? Wow; I must be losing it. There is _no_ way that I would ever _normally_ do this. _But, since Malfoy was the only person who could explain what was going on to him, Harry had no choice to rely on the Slytherin for help with this. "Why aren't you telling me anything more about my life?" he inquired of Malfoy.

"Because I need a few more people here to explain certain aspects of your life," Malfoy countered. "Just give it five minutes and all the members of our group will have arrived. There's something we all need to be together for to tell you. If I want my friend back, this must be told."

"What would that be?" Harry asked.

"Something you need to know about only _after _the entire group congregates," Malfoy replied.

"Okay, whatever," Harry shrugged. While he awaited the arrival of the other members of the group, Harry wondered what this was about. He could think of nothing that might call for everyone in a specific group to gather regarding this single purpose. It seemed utterly farfetched. Several minutes went by and, just as Malfoy said, more people arrived; his sister and a dark haired girl that Harry had never seen before. Harry nudged Malfoy. "Who's that?"

Malfoy eyed him strangely for a moment, then realization dawned on him. "Oh, yeah; you wouldn't remember who she is because that whole _different world_ thing," he muttered under his breath. "That's Vega Black; my second cousin and your godfather's daughter. The three of us basically grew up together. Ever since I went to live with Aunt Andromeda, you, Vega, and I became inseparable; we entered Hogwarts and that continued, despite the rivalry between houses. Now, can we save this for later; there are others coming."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"You'll see in a few minutes. They're on their way down here to meet us," Malfoy replied.

Despite Malfoy's assurance that the other two of their number would be on their way down, Harry grew impatient, shifting his weight from foot to foot. There was no way he could wait any longer than he had in order to find out what was going on. Answers needed to be given and Harry was quite determined to seek them out. Harry was nearly about to scream when he heard two more people on their way down. When they stepped out into the light, Harry saw someone he did not expect to be in this group: Hermione Granger. "Exactly what's going on that you had to call me out of the library, Draco?" she asked.

"Yeah," the girl beside her—whom Harry recognized in passing to be his sister's friend Brianna—piped up. She tossed her dark brown hair back behind her ear, her chocolate eyes boring into Malfoy. "I thought those coins were only used for Raider purposes. _That's _not supposed to happen until the end of the week. What's with the unscheduled meeting then?"

"Slight problem," Malfoy informed them. "One of our number is faced with a problem that must be dealt with imminently. It cannot go untreated; else our plans for later this week will never happen."

"Why not?" Rachel asked.

Malfoy bit his lip. "Rachel, even you must admit that your brother has seemed a bit off. It's been like this all week. There was even a point where he didn't know who you were." Rachel's jaw dropped at that statement. "Shocker, I know," Malfoy said in response to that. "But, it is the truth. All week your brother's been trying to feed me some malarkey about living in a dimension completely opposite to this. Even I didn't believe it at first, but, going over everything, it all fits. If we want the Harry we all know and love—yes, Hermione, I realize you'll never like him, but I wasn't really counting you in all this—then we must re-educate him about the life he led here. He knows nothing of this world we're in."

"Not even—"

Malfoy shook his head. "Nope; this is exactly why I called you all down here. I have ten days to help Harry recover the knowledge of the fifteen years he missed. For that, I'm going to need your help. I think that, through our combined efforts, we might be able to provide Harry with all the knowledge he needs to know about this dimension he's stuck in."

"Is this really necessary?" Hermione grumbled. "I'd like to return to the library. Do a little studying. Maybe some research for that Herbology project that Professor Sprout assigned."

"Sorry, but no," Malfoy replied. "This is _not_ a request."

Hermione groaned and slumped down into a sitting position. She shot a glare at Harry in passing. _How can she hate me so much? What caused it to be like this?_ Admittedly, Harry and Ron never became friends with Hermione until after Halloween of their first year when they saved her from the troll Quirrel let in the school. If Voldemort never existed as Dumbledore explained, there would have been no reason for Quirrel to ever let a troll in. Consequently, the friendship Harry formed with Hermione Granger during that first year never developed. "Okay, now can you please explain to me what's going on? You wanted to wait for them and we have. Now I'd like to know what they were needed here for."

Hermione scoffed. "For _once_, I agree with him. I'd like to hear this."

Harry looked to his _so_-called friend, waiting for an explanation. "Okay. When you, Vega, and I were about six, we happened upon a blank piece of parchment in your father's study. Not a one of us knew what it was, at least until Rachel caught us looking at it and informed your father of what we were doing. He and Remus—who stopped by for a visit while James was baby-sitting us—were reminiscing about their time at Hogwarts when Rachel burst in tattling on us. We thought we were done for until James and Remus called for us. Turns out James and Sirius were waiting for the day we'd find that _spare bit of parchment_."

"The Marauder's Map!" Harry exclaimed knowingly. The Marauder's Map was truly one of the best things that ever happened to Harry. Having it kept Harry close to his father, a reminder of what he lost.

"Good," Draco replied. "You know of it. I won't have to explain that to you then. Well, dear old Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. You have no idea how grateful we were to them. Well, not so much Wormtail; Peter disappeared to Australia and no one's heard from him since. Remus, Sirius, and James, however; they taught us everything we ever needed to know about Hogwarts. There was also one other thing that they taught us how to do, something you really need to know." Harry quirked an eyebrow. "You and Vega have an inherent ability within you; maybe if I mention the words stag and dog, you'll know what I mean.

The dog and the stag—Padfoot and Prongs—Harry recalled, were the animagus forms of his godfather and father respectively. That didn't really mean all that much. But, when coupled with the fact that Malfoy mentioned the words transform, Marauders, and pranks in an earlier conversation, Harry began to realize what he was getting at. "We're animagi!"

"Yeah!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Her too?" Harry questioned. Malfoy nodded. _Even my sister. Probably everyone in this room can do it. Wow, Animagi. Never expected that one. _But, what did _that_ have to do with the story Malfoy had yet to regale him with? If Harry wished to understand his past, or rather the life he might have experienced if Voldemort never existed, then Malfoy needed to stop messing around and explain what was going on. "So, all six of us are animagi?" he asked.

"All six," Vega confirmed.

"Explain," Harry demanded.

Malfoy rolled his eyes and explained what was going on. "Well, as I mentioned to you earlier, it was around our third year that our true purpose for our coming to Hogwarts began. James and Sirius refused to teach us how to become an animagus until we were capable to go to Hogsmeade. It was probably for the best since you and I dealt with the ramifications of us being friends in opposing houses, particularly ones that have a known rivalry during the first two years. During Christmas holiday of our third year—Rachel's and Briana's final Christmas at home—we went to Godric's Hollow to begin our studies on how to become animagi. By the end of our third year, we were all able to transform, thus becoming the Raiders."

"The Raiders?" Harry questioned.

"Well, we couldn't very well call ourselves the Marauders," Malfoy replied. "No, we decided to refer to ourselves as the Raiders instead; James and Sirius wanted us to call ourselves the Nuevo Marauders, but you were adamant about the name change, stating that your physical similarities to your father might cause them to mistakenly think that James Potter returned to Hogwarts. While the Raiders consist of the Marauders' offspring and it is to be assumed that we might act like them, there are certain differences. Not only are two Potters, a Black, and a Lupin in this group, but mine and Hermione's involvement is the telltale sign that the Raiders are different from the Marauders that existed twenty years ago."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Okay, that explains why Brianna's here; she's a Lupin. But, what about Hermione? If she hates me so much, why would she be a part of a group I'm in?"

"You can thank Vega for that," Draco explained. "They met on the Hogwarts Express, just before meeting up with us. Vega and Hermione became fast friends and invited her to join, an offer she accepted before meeting us. She took an instant disliking to you—still not sure why—but still went along with the offer. Over the past six years, it's rare that you and Hermione were ever anywhere near each other. Vega and I made quite sure of that."

"Anything else I might want to know?" Harry questioned. Malfoy, Vega, why even Rachel; they all seemed to be avoiding one very crucial tidbit of information. They seemed to dance around the subject every time it came up. _I think I need to ask about. Otherwise they won't mention it. _"Maybe what our animagus are. If I can transform, I think I need to know. And, maybe I need to know about a certain _former_ friend of mine and how I never became friends with him," Harry made a point of noting. After spending years of being friends with Ron, it seemed odd not to. Understanding why was Harry's intent.

"Oh, you mean Weasley," Malfoy realized.

"Well, obviously!" Harry retorted. "Who else would I mean?" Since realizing how cold Ron acted towards him, Harry wondered what was going on. And, learning about the fact that Voldemort never existed in this world merely affirmed that Harry needed to understand why everything in his life seemed so different. Ron's cold behavior infuriated him.

Hermione was the one to question Harry regarding this particular line of inquiry. "Why would you want to know about Ronald Weasley? You're mental to even ask such a thing."

"Yeah!" Brianna piped up. "He's the enemy."

"Do you intend on fraternizing with the enemy?" Hermione asked.

_Whoa. Déjà vu, _Harry realized. He remembered Ron saying something along the same lines to Hermione during fourth year about Krum. It was extremely weird for Hermione to say this after the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. "He was my friend in the world I lived it," Harry countered. "I want to understand how I never became friends with him."

"Why?" his sister asked.

To help his sister understand, Harry used an analogy to illustrate his point. "Rachel, if you woke up into a world where you weren't friends with either Brianna or Annie, wouldn't you wish to know what happened?" Seeing how close his sister was with them reminded Harry of the friendship he had with Hermione and Ron. It was a shame that friendship no longer existed.

"Yeah," Rachel admitted. "I guess I'd want to know."

"Precisely," Harry avowed. "Now, who here knows what's going on with the Weasley family?"

"I think Vega and I may be the only ones," Malfoy explained. "My family—through my mother—is distantly-related to the Weasley family. Septimus Weasley married Cedrella, my first cousin, twice removed. That makes Ronald Weasley my third cousin through his father's side. Vega and Ron are second cousins through his mother; related by marriage. Problem is though that the Weasleys are rarely ever associated with the Black family because they're blood-traitors. Vega and I learned about the Weasleys because they're family for us. Arthur and Molly Weasley only ever had one son: Ron. You've seen the type of person he is; he's a Gryffindor prefect, Quidditch Captain and their Keeper, and he happens to be in line for…"

"…making Head Boy next year," Harry finished, knowing what was coming next. After hearing Ron explain this exact same thing when he stood in front of the Mirror of Erised, he knew what was coming. When the rest of the group stared at him, Harry shrugged. "Long story short, my first year I found the Mirror of Erised—a mirror to show your one true desire—and looked inside. I later showed Ron the mirror and he looked in. The life you described for him is exactly what he saw his life like." Now that Harry thought about it, maybe the Mirror of Erised didn't actually show one's desire; maybe it showed a completely different world.

"What did _you_ see in the mirror?" Rachel asked.

"Me? I saw my family," Harry admitted.

Before the conversation could continue, Malfoy cut in. "Can we get back to our original reason for being here?" He glared at Rachel. "Discuss this with your brother later. It's _not_ the time."

"Yeah. It's time for you guys to tell me the animagus forms and any nicknames we all have from being Raiders," Harry insisted. Spending time with Remus and Sirius made Harry aware of what the Marauders were like. If they—and Harry's father—were the ones to teach them, it was clear to Harry that certain aspects about the Raiders would remain true to its predecessor. What they were Harry had no clue. "Explain the Raiders to me."

"What do you want to know?" Vega asked.

"Everything," Harry informed the dark-haired girl.

"Well, Draco over here only mentioned _how_ we came to be. Dad, James, and Remus taught us about their years at school and how the Marauders came to be. At first—before Draco went to live with Andromeda—it was just the two of us. It was even before we learned of the Marauders. See, whenever our fathers got together, the four of us would be set in the playroom; I think it was done to secure our friendship. It worked out so that Rachel and Brianna had their own thing going on while you and I did something else. Draco's addition to the group because of him being my second cousin only strengthened the group. It was with _his_ help that we were able to break into James's locked study to look for parchment."

"It was locked?" Harry asked.

Vega nodded. "Apparently, it was a test. When we were ready to hear the story of their years in school—and of the Marauders—it would only be _after_ we found a way to sneak into James's study. Our fathers kept expecting us to figure out how to get in and find the Marauders Map; I doubt they ever expected it to happen after Draco became a permanent fixture in our group. After that, the five of us got lessons regarding a subject they called _Marauder History_. And, when I became friends with Hermione, she learned an abridged version of that history. Problems for Raiders arose when we were sorted; you and I in Gryffindor, Draco in Slytherin, and Hermione in Ravenclaw. We dealt with that issue until the very beginning of our second year; both the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry that existed and how we were to meet up when the group was split among three of the four houses.

"When Brianna was sorted into Slytherin and Rachel sorted into Hufflepuff at the beginning of fourth year, things settled down for good, after only hearing sporadic insults throughout our third year. It was actually Dumbledore who helped us end that; he knew who we each were—with the Marauders being legends and all—and made it known to the school that the Raiders were promoters of house unity. We were capable of coexisting. Whereas the Marauders were all of Gryffindor, the Raiders found themselves placed in all four houses, in a perfect position for Dumbledore to make it known that inter-house unity was possible. Inadvertent as it was, the Raiders became role models for the school.

"Dumbledore's blessing helped us immensely. We were able to start doing a lot of what we wanted. When we got permission to go to Hogsmeade, we began using the Honeydukes basement as our meeting place. It's the one place we can sit and discuss Raider business; Rachel and Brianna knew of the secret passageway the moment they entered Hogwarts thanks to our fathers, so it was the perfect place to meet. No one would ever suspect that two first-years knew the location secret passageways, even if they were the offspring of legendary Marauders.

"Now, regarding the animagus thing. Well, we have some rather interesting ones. Brianna, for instance. All of us expected her to transform into a wolf because her father is a werewolf. She instead transformed into a cat like McGonagall does; she's a brown spotted cat we call Mist. It's actually Draco that transformed into a wolf, a white wolf we dubbed Tiberius. My animagus form is black fox called Rhapsody and Rachel's is a Shih Tzu dog named Sol. Finally, Hermione is an otter called River and you are a lion we call Sahara."

"A lion?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Malfoy replied.

A part of Harry always expected that he would be a stag like his father. Plus, his Patronus was a stag; though that was in a world where his father was dead. It seemed as if a part of his personality changed as well in this world. Hermione's personality didn't change, aside from her placement in Ravenclaw; last year when they were doing Patronuses in Dumbledore's Army, Hermione's Patronus was an otter. It came as no surprise that her animagus form would be the same. Whereas Hermione's personality was the same, Harry's personality differed. "Anything else I may need to know about this?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. You should probably beware of Weasley, Filch, and Snape," Malfoy replied. "They hate us. Weasley because he's a git; and Filch and Snape because of the Marauders."

"Good to know," Harry replied.

"Are we done here?" Hermione asked.

"Pretty much," Malfoy informed her.

"Good. I'm out of here. I have some studying to do. If you need me, I'll be in the library," Hermione stated, standing up and striding out of Honeydukes' basement in a hurry.

After Hermione left, the rest of the group scattered. Rachel and Brianna headed off next to go spend some time with Annie. This left Harry, Malfoy, and Vega sitting on the basement floor. Silence flooded Harry's ears for a few minutes before Vega broke the quiet. "Sorry, guys, but I need to go speak to Hagrid about something," Vega intoned. "Later."

After Vega disappeared, Harry was left sitting with what _should _have been his worst enemy. Even after hearing everything explained to him, it still felt weird referring to Draco Malfoy as a friend. Hermione was more his friend than Malfoy was. _I don't think I'll ever get used to the fact that I'm friends with him and not Ron._ Harry stood. "You know, I think I better go myself. I need to go and let all of this information soak in," he explained.

"Yeah. Go," Malfoy said. "Before you do though, you might want to check under the loose floorboard in your dormitory. There's something there that might be of interest to you."

"Noted," Harry said, leaving the Honeydukes' basement. As he did, Harry wondered what Malfoy might be talking about. He emerged from the one-eyed witch statue and realized that it was far later than he might have realized; it was late afternoon and it seemed as if they missed lunch in order to go over Harry's missing fifteen years. Upon going to the kitchen to get something to eat, Harry headed back to Gryffindor Tower. He needed some alone time to sort through the knowledge Draco, Vega, and Rachel informed him of.

As he headed into Gryffindor Tower and up towards his dormitory, Harry bumped into two seventh-years in passing. They were speaking in hushed tones, hoping no one would take any notice of what was going on. Harry knew though; for years, Harry had seen these two particular people do exactly that. But, it made no sense. According to the story just regaled to him, Ron was an only child in this world; those two _couldn't_ exist here. And yet, they did. _Okay, that's weird_, Harry thought as he headed to his dormitory. _How do they still exist? _Apparently, when Harry next saw Malfoy—or even Vega—he'd have to question them about what he just saw; there had to an explanation for the biggest pranksters Hogwarts had seen since the Marauders to exist here if Ronald Bilius Weasley was an only child.

Harry came bursting into his dormitory and went straight for the loose floorboard Malfoy informed him of. It was not a very smart idea, but Harry's curiosity got the better of him; he wished to know what was down there. Underneath the floorboard was a mirror. To anyone who found it, the item would seem innocuous; to Harry, however, he knew this to be a two-way mirror, one of a set. In his own world, Sirius gave him this on Christmas during his fifth year; he never opened it until after his death. Apparently, he got it much earlier in this timeline. But, who had the match? Which of his friends owned the other mirror? "Draco or Vega?"

"Good. You found the mirror," he heard Malfoy say.

Harry looked down and saw Malfoy's face in front of him. "So, you have the mirror. You could have mentioned this; I knew of the mirrors. Never really used them, but I knew of their existence."

"And, how was I to know that?" Malfoy inquired.

"You could have asked," Harry stated. "Though admittedly, I expected Vega to have the mirror since it was our fathers that owned these mirrors when they were our age. Why do you have it?"

"Because I'm closer to you than she is," Malfoy informed him.

"Oh. Well, you have some explaining to do," Harry told him.

"What about?" Malfoy asked.

"While I was on my way through the Gryffindor Common Room, I passed two red-heads on my way in. Those two red-heads—in my world—are Ron's older brothers; consequently, Fred and George should _not_ exist," Harry explained. "So, tell me, how is this even possible?"

"You passed the Prewett twins?" Malfoy questioned.

"The Prewett twins?" Harry asked.

"Gideon Prewett's sons, a year above us," Malfoy replied. "Fred and George are friends of ours. It's kind of funny that we're friends with them since they're Ron's cousins; though he does hate them as much as he hates us. Vega used her family connections during first year to gain their trust, and keep the Prewett twins on our good side. I don't know about the world you're from, but those two are known pranksters in this world. If she didn't, then we would surely get pranked as much as everyone else in the school usually does."

Harry nodded knowing. "In my world, they have a joke shop: Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Before becoming entrepreneurs, those two enjoyed pranking fellow students. School was never their forte."

"Agreed," Malfoy replied.

"Now, is there anything else you might want to inform me about?" Harry asked. Although he was informed about a good chunk of his life, there were parts of his life that Harry still wasn't clear on. Dumbledore's orders were for Malfoy to tell Harry _everything_ about his life. _That_ had no yet occurred. Something more needed to be told and Harry knew it.

"I do," Malfoy replied, "but it has to wait. It's easier to _show_ than tell you. Meet me and Vega after dinner tomorrow in the Room of Requirement. We'll show you what we mean then."

Malfoy's head disappeared from the mirror and Harry placed the mirror back underneath the loose floorboard. He wondered what else Malfoy had to reveal about the life Harry led. _What must be shown rather than told?_ Harry asked himself. _What do they have to show me? _

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note: **** I've ****been planning this chapter ever since I started writing this story. Prior to even writing this chapter, I spent several weeks determining certain aspects that were to be included in this chapter. The Mirror of Erised and what it showed Ron and Harry during first year helped me immensely in deciding how I wanted to alter canon. There was no way I could just get rid of Fred and George altogether though; so, instead of being Weasleys, I made them Prewetts. **

**What lies next for Harry to uncover about his life?**

**Leave a review.  
**


	11. A Walk Down Memory Lane With Vega

**A Walk Down Memory Lane With Vega**

When daylight streamed into the dormitory the next morning, Harry woke up immediately. He really couldn't sleep all that well after thinking about everything that Malfoy revealed to him yesterday. A part of him didn't want to wait to discover more about his life. Harry dragged himself out of bed and got ready for the day. Before he could head out of the Common Room, someone grabbed hold of his arm. Spinning around, he came face-to-face with Vega. "Oh, hey, Vega," Harry said. "What do you want?"

"I heard you met this world's Fred and George, that they were Weasleys where you came from." She laughed. "I bet that was a shock, seeing people you knew from one family in a complete different family."

Harry nodded. "It was definitely one of the biggest shocks of my life," Harry informed her. "Especially when Fabian and Gideon Prewett died in my time. They were in the Order of the Phoenix, trying to defeat Voldemort. I guess that sort of explains why Fabian Prewett is the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher; both he and his brother were rather skilled duelists. It took five Death Eaters just to kill them. I really don't know how Fred and George could have possibly switched families, even if it is their uncle." Harry doubted that it would ever make any sense for Fred and George to exist in a family other than the Weasleys. To Harry, Fred and George would always be Weasleys; nothing could ever change that.

Vega shrugged. "You may not ever find out."

"Why would you say that?" Harry asked her.

"Because there's really no way to know for sure what might have happened, how the two of them could have switched families," Vega replied. "Now, come on. We should probably go down for breakfast. I want to get to Care of Magical Creatures as soon as possible."

"Favorite class?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely," Vega grinned. As they exited the common room and headed down to breakfast, Vega got all glassy-eyed as she explained it to Harry. "I've always found animals to be fascinating. And, the way Hagrid has taught the class makes it all the more fun."

Harry's eyes widened at that. Within his own timeline, Hagrid was expelled because dear old Riddle needed a fall guy for Moaning Myrtle's death just outside the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Here though, Harry was not quite certain as to what happened. _How did Hagrid come to be at Hogwarts in this world?_ It seemed as if Vega needed to explain what was going on to him. Malfoy hadn't done so yesterday when he regaled Harry with the Marauder/Raider story and he didn't even think to ask at the time. "Hagrid's still here at the school?" he questioned.

"Still?" Vega asked. "What was Hagrid like in _your_ world?"

"June 13th, 1942. Voldemort unleashed a basilisk on the school, intent on killing muggleborns like Hermione. Only one death occurred, a girl named Myrtle. After speaking with Professor Dumbledore, Voldemort learned that the school would surely close if the culprit was not caught. Intent on remaining in the school, Voldemort framed Hagrid for what happened. Since Hagrid was known for caring for strange animals, it wouldn't seem all that suspicious that he might be the culprit. Rubeus Hagrid was expelled that day. But, because he was an orphan, he was allowed to stay at the school; becoming the Hogwarts Gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys in exchange for boarding on the grounds.

"It was through him that I initially learned of the past my Muggle relatives refused to tell me. And, while I was attending Hogwarts, Hagrid was one of my closest friends, aside from Ron and Hermione. He was one of the people I turned to when I needed help with something. If not for Hagrid's friendship, I might never have figured out what was going on during my first and second years." Harry hoped that the friendship he had with Hagrid would remain intact; he didn't want to lose that as well. Ron was already gone. Hermione was too. If Hagrid disappeared from his life as well, this world just wouldn't seem right. He had to know; Harry _had_ to know what Hagrid was like in this dimension. "What's Hagrid like here?" Harry asked her. "What happened in Hagrid's past to make him the way that he is, if anything at all?"

"We'll talk about this later," Vega replied.

Harry shrugged. "Fine."

Vega nodded. "I normally spend my free period in the library with Hermione. But, considering the situation, I suppose I can skip that for today and help you understand what's changed about your life. Draco wants to wait to do this, but I have to disagree; there are some things you need to know right _now_. The rest can wait until after dinner as initially planned."

"Thanks, Vega," Harry replied.

"No problem, Harry," she grinned.

Though he would have liked to learn what was going on with Hagrid right now, Harry was appreciative to Vega for offering to help him. It wasn't immediately as Harry would have liked, but the offer was a nice gesture. There was really no reason for Vega to make an offer like that, but she did anyway. And, Harry appreciated it. With her help, Harry might be able to gain a better understand on his life, even greater than if just Malfoy told him about his life. Despite yesterday's events, Harry was still very unsure of Malfoy's motives. He still had his suspicions about Malfoy and could not completely trust what he had to say. With Vega he could; she seemed far more trustworthy that Malfoy ever would.

Harry bid Vega goodbye for the moment, agreeing to meet her at the Room of Requirement during their free period, and headed down to the Great Hall. He slid into a seat beside Dean and began piling his plate with food. As he devoured the food, Harry couldn't help but shift his emerald gaze to the Ravenclaw table where Hermione sat talking with Padma Patil. _How am I to convince her that I'm one of her best friends?_ His gaze turned to Ron who was pouring over several books, even at the breakfast table. _And, even worse, how am I supposed to convince Ron? He hates me even more than Hermione does right now._

Things certainly seemed to be getting worse for Harry. And, it would only get worse. Despite the fact that his parents and godfather were alive, if he lost his friends in the process, it might not be worth it. Ron and Hermione were as much a part of his family as everyone else. Maybe even more so as a result of all the time he spent with them. Rachel, Brianna, Vega, and Malfoy may have been like family for the Harry of this world—with Hermione being a person he made contact with only when he needed to because of their mutual dislike for each other—but there was no way that Harry could ever live with it; for him, it just didn't feel right to befriend his enemy and people who would never come to exist within his own world rather than the first two friends he had in his life, ignoring their existence. Harry desperately needed to find a way to make friends with both the Ron and Hermione of this world; to have some semblance of the life he truly wanted, a life with all the people who cared about him: his parents, his sister, his godfather, and his closest friends.

The time between breakfast and his free period passed rather quickly and uneventfully, mostly because Harry could barely pay attention to what was going on around him. He vaguely recalled passing each of the Raiders at least once, but felt no need to acknowledge them; it could get dealt with later. Harry's last class before free period ended and he hurried off to seventh floor where he knew the Room of Requirement to be. There waiting for him was Vega, a bag slung over her shoulder. "Ah, good; you're here," Vega said. She walked past the empty corridor three times to bring the door into view. "Come on. I'll explain what I can to you. For everything else, you need to wait for Draco to show you."

Harry nodded, understanding what she meant—and duly followed the raven-haired girl inside the Room of Requirement; there were some things that she simply couldn't answer, despite being one of Harry's closest friends here. Peering around at his surroundings, Harry found that the room transformed into a comfortable sitting area. A few red armchairs and a matching red couch were place around the fireplace, circular table just between them. Lining the walls were shelves of books, of any imaginable. It reminded Harry a little bit of the Gryffindor common room in the way the room was colored and the layout to the room. The sixteen year-old slumped down into one of the armchairs and looked expectantly at Vega as he dropped his bag on the floor. "Hagrid?" he asked.

Vega sat down. "Ah, well, from what I've learned over the years—from McGonagall and Dumbledore—something happened to him in his fifth year. Hagrid never gave any specifics, not wanting to talk about the past or something-" Harry nodded, remembering the same, "-so I don't exactly know what happened. All I know is that it was something truly devastating that he couldn't bear to talk about." She groaned, beginning to talk to herself. "It's hard to explain. You know what; I think this should be done now, at least for a few the things that Draco _can't_ show you. With Hagrid in particular. I'm the only one other than you who knows Hagrid; and you can't very well understand in your current condition."

Harry looked at her confusedly. "What are you thinking?"

Before Vega could speak, the table in front of them disappeared and a large stone vessel appeared before them. "Harry, do you know what this?" Vega asked as she removed her wand from her bag.

"It's a Pensieve," Harry stated. It was the Pensieve and the memories Dumbledore showed him about Voldemort that started this whole thing. The Pensieve in Dumbledore's office caused Harry to wonder about what life might have been like if Voldemort never existed. And, because of his musings, Merope Gaunt's infatuation with Tom Riddle Senior never occurred and the bane of Harry's existence never entered the world. Harry eyed Vega, wondering what was going on. "Exactly what do you need a Pensieve for?"

"It's part of Draco's plan for later," Vega explained. "But, for right now, I think that you might want to view a few memories of mine. It could help you understand things a little better."

"What memories?" Harry asked.

"Just watch," Vega replied as she used her wand to pull one of the memories she needed from her head. The memory fell into the Pensieve and showed a scene of Vega sitting in Hagrid's hut. Harry leaned over to look at the memory and was sucked inside with Vega right behind him.

Harry looked around at the inside of familiar hut and saw a younger-looking Vega sipping a cup of tea as she talked to Hagrid. She seemed about thirteen or fourteen at the time. Vega elbowed Harry and confirmed hi suspicions. "Three years ago. After he showed us the hippogriffs."

"Really?" Harry asked. "He showed you guys the hippogriffs. Was one of them named Buckbeak?" Vega nodded. "Well, I hope that class went better for you guys than it did for me. When I first met Buckbeak—which also happened to be the first Care of Magical Creatures I ever had—Malfoy decided to provoke him; Malfoy's stupidity caused Buckbeak to attack him. Things got really out of hand when Malfoy went complaining to his father about his injured arm and how it got that way. Buckbeak was to be executed because of what happened. If not for the action that Hermione and I took to rescue him, there's a very good chance that Buckbeak might have been killed." Harry intentionally left out the fact that her father might also have been killed that same day. Vega did not need to know of that.

"Draco did that!" Vega exclaimed.

"He did," Harry replied.

"Wow. Well, I suggest that pay attention to the memory. This is kind of important for you to know, especially if you want to know what's been going on with Hagrid," she explained.

Harry nodded and did so.

_After her first day back, Vega decided to go down and visit Hagrid. Talking with Hagrid often offered some form of comfort to Vega, sometimes even more so than Hermione, Harry, and Draco. The first day back was one of those instances. She felt much more comfortable talking to Hagrid about certain aspects of her life. Considering how much she loved animals, Hagrid seemed the best person to talk with. And, now that the Raiders were planning on becoming animagi, the love Vega had for animals would come in handy. So, she would talk with Hagrid for awhile; maybe get a little insight into the animal she might become._

_"Hagrid?" she asked, wanting to think of anything but school and her upcoming animagus training, "what were your years at Hogwarts like?" Since coming here, Vega wondered about Rubeus Hagrid; he never really spoke about his years at Hogwarts and Vega was curious. Since the boat ride to Hogwarts, Vega was fascinated by the Hogwarts groundskeeper. After her first day of classes, Vega snuck down to see the half-giant, to talk things out with him. This became a regular occurrence; whenever she couldn't—or didn't want to—spend time with Harry, Draco, or Hermione, Vega would come down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and speak with Hagrid. During the past two years, the one thing Vega never learned was about Hagrid's past. And, she wished to know what that was like._

_"I can't talk about it," Hagrid insisted_

_"Why not?" she asked._

_"I jus can't," he replied._

Harry glanced over at Vega, confused by what this memory meant. In fact, he was more confused by this than all the memories Dumbledore was showing him to help him gain an understanding of what Voldemort's weakness was and what type of person he was in his younger years. "Vega, what's going on here? Why did you show me this memory?" he asked.

"Just wait," Vega warned. "There's more to this memory than you think. After two years of never hearing about Hagrid's past, I was intent on finding out. I went to McGonagall and Dumbledore immediately, wanting to know about Hagrid's past. And, you might be interested to see this next part."

"Alright," Harry shrugged. Though unsure of what he might find, Harry turned back to the memory and watched the past play out before him. He wondered what Vega was talking about.

_"You sure?" Vega asked._

_Hagrid nodded. "Sorry yeh came down here fer nothing."_

_Vega finished her tea in silence and handed the cup back to Hagrid. "That's alright, Hagrid. I have to get back up to the castle anyway. Snape assigned a two foot long essay and I really don't want that to wait until the last minute." Though a bit of Hermione rubbed off on her over the years, Vega had no intention of starting that Potions assignment, at least not yet. Before doing that, Vega had one more thing to do. And, that was something that Hagrid couldn't know about. "See you in class, Professor Hagrid," she laughed as she left the hut and ran back up to the castle to find who she was looking for._

Harry and Vega ran after Memory Vega, stopping just outside the Great Hall. There waiting was Memory Harry. Seeing this, Harry's jaw dropped. "_I'm_ a part of this memory?" he asked. Here was his chance; Harry's first chance at seeing the type of person he was in this world.

"Yes. Now shut up," Vega chided. "Just watch."

There was no need for Vega to give such an order. Harry intended on paying very close attention to his memory self. Maybe he could figure out the type of person he was from this.

_"Oh, hello Harry," Vega grinned. Out of the Raiders, seeing Harry in front of her was probably for the best. Her dear cousin never really liked Hagrid all that much and Hermione preferred to sit in the library than visit the half-giant. Only Harry would ever accompany Vega down there, at least when he wasn't out chasing the Snitch with Draco. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I was waiting for you actually," Harry replied, giving a shrug. "Seeing as you, Draco, and I agreed to meet and discuss the plan we have for this year, I thought I might come get you and then contact Draco using the mirror. Now that the taunts have died down a little, I thought we could do this now; maybe connect to the Floo and speak with Ray and Ri about this. They want to talk to us about all of this, and I doubt they intend on waiting, especially Ray."_

_"Very true," Vega laughed. "But, I really can't do it this second. I have something I need to do before anything else." Harry gave her a confused look, so Vega elaborated. "It's about Hagrid."_

_"Hagrid?" Harry asked._

_Vega nodded. "Yeah. I tried asking Hagrid about his past, but he refused. There's something going on with Hagrid. I mean, why would he be here at Hogwarts unless something happened."_

_"What do you intend on doing then?" Harry asked._

_"It's quite simple really. Just ask someone who was here when Hagrid was in school. Maybe McGonagall or Dumbledore," Vega told him. "One of them must know. I just have to find out which one of the professors has the answers I seek, the answers that I need."_

_Harry shrugged. "How about I come along with you?" he suggested. "I may not be as close to the man as you are, but I still I'd like to know what's going on. Come on; let's go." Vega's eyes widened. Harry shrugged again. "Jeez, Lyre, did you think I wouldn't care?"_

_"No, I was just surprised is all," Vega explained. She didn't exactly suspect that Harry would agree to help her figure this out. "Okay then, phoenix; let's go talk to Dumbledore and McGonagall."_

As Harry and Vega followed the memory versions of themselves to Dumbledore's office, Harry questioned Vega about how they were addressed. "What's with the nicknames?" he asked.

"Knew you'd ask that," Vega chuckled. "When we were younger—before our animagus transformations—we each had our own little nicknames. Rachel and Brianna are Ray and Ri respectively; we like to jokingly call them R&R. Then, I'm Lyre since Vega is the brightest star in the Lyra constellation, named after a lyre. Draco; I'm sure you know that we like to call him dragon. With you, your nickname was tricky; eventually we went with phoenix because of the birthmark you have on your inner arm that happens to be in the shape of a phoenix."

"A phoenix?" Harry chuckled. "I never do seem to escape the phoenix. In my world, my wand's core came from a phoenix called Fawkes. Then, considering that I never do seem to die completely, but rather rise up from the ashes, I guess you really could call me Phoenix." It seemed as if, even in this world, he was associated with a phoenix. _What in the world are the chances of _me_ receiving a phoenix-shaped birthmark?_ He rolled his sleeve up to find the birthmark Vega mentioned. It was indeed in the shape of a phoenix, just as Vega told him it would. _How did I not notice this before?_ Harry supposed it had to do with the fact that he never had the birthmark before and felt that there was no need for him to even check.

"I'm pretty sure that you'll know what Hermione's nickname is since you seemed to have known her in another world," Vega muttered as they continued to run up to Dumbledore's office, following their memory selves. "Surely, you must have called her so at one point in your life."

"Mione," Harry said knowingly.

"Correct," Vega replied. They arrived at the gargoyle statue leading to Dumbledore's office where their memory selves and Professor McGonagall were standing. As McGonagall gave the password and headed up the spiraling staircase with her students after the gargoyle statue moved, Harry and Vega followed just behind them to listen in on their conversation.

Upon reaching Dumbledore's office, the pair moved the side of the office where Dumbledore's own Pensieve rested. Harry was intent on discovering what was going on with Hagrid, how different he was in this world. Nothing in the world could deter the sixteen year-old from learning about all the differences between this world and his own. Information about his friends in particular was of vital importance; he needed to hear about this.

_The two Gryffindors took a seat as Dumbledore addressed them. "Miss Black? Mr. Potter? To what do we owe this visit?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes twinkling just as they always did._

_"We wanted to talk to you," Vega explained to the headmaster. Seeing as this was her idea, she might as well be the one to question the professors about it. Harry only came for support; he wanted to know what plagued Hagrid as well, though not to the extent Vega was curious. _

_"About what?" Dumbledore asked, almost knowingly._

_"Hagrid. We were wondering about his past," Harry replied. _

_"Ah. I wondered when this would come up," Dumbledore laughed. _

_Vega eyed her headmaster, wondering how he could possibly know that she would one day question about the half-giant man. She had only just come to a decision to ask him about it during the holiday. Upon questioning her father, James, and Remus about what they knew about Hagrid and learning that they didn't know much more than she did regarding Hagrid's past, Vega came to the decision to question Hagrid about it. Professor Dumbledore would have no way of knowing that this was her intent. "Sir, how did you know? How could you have guessed that I would ask about something like this?" she asked._

_"Your level of closeness to Hagrid," Dumbledore explained with a knowing smile. "Since Hagrid has been here, you are the only student willing to get close to our groundskeeper."_

_"No one!" Vega exclaimed. _

_"Not even the Marauders," the headmaster replied._

_Vega knew that to be true. Throughout all the stories she'd ever heard during the Marauder History lessons, Vega never once heard anything about any of their fathers caring. None of them really seemed all that interested in anything that did not involve torturing Snape or Filch. Vega always knew that a part of her personality came from her mother; she just never knew exactly how much until that moment. "I wish they did," Vega muttered softly. She turned to Harry and addressed him. "Dad and the other Marauders never seemed to appreciate things the same way that the Raiders do, wouldn't you agree, Harry?"_

_"One of the only true differences between us them," Harry agreed. "The Marauders used their years at Hogwarts to play pranks, a lot of them dangerous. Those Marauder lessons definitely paid off; and of course the lectures we got afterwards about following their example. We might as well have been repeating their mistakes, if not for listening to those lectures."_

_"Thank Merlin," Vega laughed._

Harry looked to Vega for an explanation. Vega grinned. "You can thank Lily for knocking some common sense into us before we went off to Hogwarts and making the same stupid mistakes our fathers made. If it was James and Dad, we'd be _exactly_ like the Marauders."

"Makes sense," Harry noted. This was why Harry missed his parents so much. Their conflicting personalities would have balanced Harry out. James was known for his mischievous streak while Lily had the brains and common sense. Growing up them would have most likely prevented Harry from attracting trouble as often as he did; though _that_ did happen to be an effect of surviving every attempt to kill him. "Mom would never want her son acting like a mini-version of her husband. Snape never liked that either," he admitted.

"Still doesn't," Vega chuckled.

_Sort of figured out that one for myself, thanks_, Harry thought. _But, what was it that set him off this time? It couldn't be the same reason_. The chances of Snape hating Harry in this world for the same reason that he hated him in his own world were unfathomable. "Why does Snape hate me anyway?" Harry asked the raven-haired girl. "Surely you must have some clue."

"I do," Vega replied. Harry grinned at that answer, hoping that she might explain it to him. This was one thing that Harry needed to know; why did Snape hate him? "But, now is not the time." Harry face fell. "If we have enough time after viewing this memory, I'll tell you what I know. For right now, I need you to pay attention if you want to know how Hagrid came to be here at Hogwarts."

_"Well, if we can get back to our original topic, Hagrid's past is not something he openly discusses," Dumbledore explained, a somber look gracing his once smiling face. "His fifth year was not a very memorable on and he'd do anything to forget it. Rubeus begged us to oblivate all memory of that particular year from his mind, but we could not. Important events from his fifth year could not get removed and that's exactly what might have happened if we did as he asked."_

_"And, what _did_ happen?" Vega asked._

_"It cannot be discussed," McGonagall warned. _

_"Why not?" the raven-haired girl questioned. Vega was extremely intent on discovering the secret Hagrid hid and the effect said event had on him. Every so often when Vega came down to speak with Hagrid, she would find the half-giant wistfully looking out at the horizon muttering something about flying pigs. Vega never understood what that meant, but she was determined to find out; she needed to understand why this was happening._

_"It is something that only Hagrid can tell you," Dumbledore explained. "But, suffice it to say, the event in question occurred not two days before Christmas. Maybe that will help you figure out what occurred all those years ago. "Mr. Potter, Miss Black, I wish you luck in your search."_

_"Yes sir," they replied. _

The memory faded and the pair of Gryffindors found themselves back within the Room of Requirement. Harry glanced at Vega. "Was that it?" he asked. "It didn't even mention what I wanted to know."

Vega nodded. "I know. Therein lies the problem. We never did find out what Hagrid's worst memory was. Our animagus training got in the way. In fact, a lot of Raider plans got in the way. Every time we tried to go talk to Hagrid about the events of his fifth year, something else got in the way."

"Malfoy?" Harry asked. Vega nodded. "I suppose his dislike of Hagrid is mostly to blame for there being absolutely no progress in your search." Considering all that Harry knew about Malfoy from within his own world, it seemed as if certain aspects of his personality would remain the same. It would seem as if Malfoy's hatred of Hagrid was the one thing that would never change.

"Yeah, well, my cousin never really did understand how much I cared about Hagrid; Draco preferred Quidditch and Potions to caring about Hagrid," Vega replied. "I could never convince him to understand."

"Now could be your only chance," Harry realized.

"My thinking exactly," Vega grinned.

"I suppose that means we should go down there huh?" Harry asked.

Vega nodded. "I know for a fact that Hagrid spends the hour after teaching my class caring for the animals. He told me so just after the Welcome Back Feast at the beginning of this year, so that I might be able to come help him. My free period was scheduled so I could go help him, if I so chose. I only ever go down there once or twice a week. Maybe if we both go down there, Hagrid will tell us what happened. Even with you having very little knowledge of this world, there's a chance you can help. In fact, it might even be advantageous for us; your knowledge of _that_ could make Hagrid realize that maybe what happened to him is not as bad as what _could_ have transpired." Vega grabbed her things and strode out of the Room of Requirement. "Come on, Harry. If you want your answer, we need to go down and talk to Hagrid about this." She left the room, leaving Harry inside to think.

Harry sat there for awhile, wondering if he should follow Vega. He did want to know what happened to Hagrid in this world. Something happened to him that fifth year, something so terrible he wanted nothing more than to forget it. The sixteen year-old shrugged and, grabbing his effects, ran out into the seventh floor corridor. "I need to find out."

"Took you long enough," Vega replied from where she was leaning against the wall. "Honestly, I expected you to take even longer." The door to the Room of Requirement disappeared and Vega started walking. "Better hurry, Sahara!" she called, using his Raider nickname.

"I'm coming, Rhapsody!" he answered. He quickly caught up to Vega—Quidditch definitely came in handy—and questioned her. "Why Rhapsody anyway? I get all the other names, but not yours."

"A lyre is a stringed musical instrument, similar to a harp," Vega explained "And, as I told you before, the constellation Lyra, of which the star I was named for resides, was named after a lyre. So, in honor of that, Marauders and Raiders alike agreed that my nickname should have something to do with music. One of Dad's rare bright ideas." She laughed. "Though, what I find even funny is that they almost named me Vulpecula, which, if you knew Astronomy as well as Draco and I do, is a fox. When I first transformed, James fell into a bout of laughter at the form I took: a black fox; they all knew I'd have black fur considering the family I was born into, but the form was another story. It took him a good ten minutes to stop laughing about that and promptly began informing me of what I was almost named."

"Wish I remembered that," Harry said wistfully.

"You'll see it," Vega replied as they made it out of the castle and headed down to Hagrid's hut. "It's one of the memories that Draco plans to show you this afternoon. Since we have limited time to do this, showing you the first time we each transformed seemed the best option to go with. Draco has nine days to do this before Christmas break begins."

"Christmas is that close?" Harry asked incredulously.

"That's why Draco was given ten days," Vega confirmed. "Everyone figured that the Marauders would get suspicious if one of the Raiders was completely clueless as to the goings on of the world. Then, there's also the full moon that occurs on Christmas Eve. Surely, your knowledge of the Marauders must make you aware of what _that_ means." Harry nodded. "Right, meaning you need to be able to transform into a lion by then. James, Dad, and Remus will get suspicious if it you aren't acting like yourself; we simply can't risk that. For all we know, you could get sent out to St. Mungo's because of what happened; so, we're dealing with it internally. Since all but Hermione grew up with you, we're the best people to ask about your life; we'll know about anything you wish to ask." They arrived at the door to Hagrid's hut and Vega knocked twice. "This time I am going to figure this out."

"No kidding," Harry said from beside her.

Before behind them, a voice could be heard. Based on the size of the shadow, Harry knew it was Hagrid. "'Arry, Vega, so nice to see yeh. What brings yeh down here?" he asked.

"We came to help you, Hagrid," Harry replied.

"And, we also have some questions," Vega added.

"Question? What kinda questions?" Hagrid asked warily.

Vega looked at Hagrid, her gray eyes pleading with him to give her the answers she desired. "Look, Hagrid, I know it's hard for you, but could you please tell us what happened in your fifth year. It might help if you talk about it with someone," she explained.

"I can't," Hagrid murmured. "I jus can't."

"Why?" Harry wondered. "What happened that you can't bring yourself to even speak of it?" Harry remembered there being only one thing that Hagrid never wished to speak of; though it was only in his own world: Voldemort. It was only during second year that Harry realized why the half-giant man never wished to discuss things of that nature; through Riddle's diary, Harry learned that Voldemort ensured Hagrid's expulsion after Myrtle's death. Hagrid hated Riddle for forcing him to give up magic. What was it here though?

"I don't like thinking about it," Hagrid replied.

Harry eyed Vega and could see the frustration growing on her face. She desperately wanted an answer to this question. "Okay, how about this, could you please give us the memory so that we can view it ourselves?" Harry asked. If Vega was so determined to find out what was going on with Hagrid—and he as well—they might as well do it in a way that Hagrid could not get upset over. This way, everyone would be happy with the arrangement.

"I suppose," Hagrid said after a few moments. He pulled out his wand, a sixteen inch oak wand, and, upon removing the memory in question, handed it to Harry. "'Ere ya go, 'Arry."

"Thanks, Hagrid," Harry said, handing it off to Vega who placed it in a container to view while they were in the Room of Requirement. They still had a little time before their next class, so they could probably view the memory now. After saying goodbye to Hagrid, the pair headed back to Room of Requirement. He turned to Vega as the same room before appeared and they went to take a seat where they did earlier. "Ready to watch the memory."

Vega dropped the memory into the Pensieve and nodded. "I've been ready since third year." The two Gryffindors peered over the Pensieve and were absorbed into the memory of what was Hagrid's fifth year to uncover what happened on the date in question: December 23, 1943.

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**Author's Note: **** I have no idea how this chapter happened. It was initially supposed to be what Draco had to show Harry, but I got so into writing about Vega and Hagrid that my plans got pushed back. I still have yet to write Hagrid's worst experience before getting back to what was planned. The memory chapters will continue; I plan on writing one for Vega, Draco, Rachel, Brianna, and Hermione with a few chapters here and there to explain what happened to Hagrid, Snape, and some of the other important people from Harry's life. **

**What is Hagrid's worst memory?  
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	12. Hagrid's Tale

**Hagrid's Tale**

Having gotten sucked into Hagrid's worst memory, Harry and Vega found themselves standing in the dungeons, just outside the Potions classroom. The two Gryffindors exchanged a glance before entering the classroom and watching as Rubeus Hagrid's worst memory unfolded in front of them. Neither Harry nor Vega opted to make a noise; Harry was intent on finding out about his friend's past, and so was Vega. Something dreadful must have happened on this day and affected Hagrid severely. But, since Hagrid never wanted to talk about what happened—even after fifty-three years—it seemed as if Harry and Vega would be the first people to ever learn of the half-giant's unspeakable past.

_Rubeus Hagrid entered his last class of the day, double Potions with Slytherin. It was not a class he looked forward to, not the way he looked forward to Care of Magical Creatures. But, as much as the class annoyed him, Rubeus needed the class in order to take care of animals. From the time he was a young boy, Rubeus always knew that he wanted to take care of magical creatures. His mother left when he was little and his father died a few years ago. All Rubeus had left after his father died were the animals he cared for; no one knew where his mother was. And, to do that—to take care of the animals he loved—Rubeus needed this class. _

_The problem with this class was a Slytherin fifth year named Isaac York. Isaac was the worst type of bully imaginable; the boy spent four and a half years torturing Rubeus, seeing to it that Rubeus's years at Hogwarts were a nightmare. And, each succeeding attack seemed to get that much worse. During the sorting, Isaac took an instant dislike to Rubeus and made his life as miserable as he possibly could. Rubeus spent his first year avoiding pranks that Isaac sent his way with help from Peeves, Hogwarts' resident poltergeist. Isaac got more creative in torturing Rubeus as the years passed and the young Gryffindor expected something terrible today. He dreaded what Isaac York had planned for him today._

_As Rubeus slid into his seat, he heard a voice in the back of the room call out. "Hey, ogre! Move out of the way! You're blocking my view." Rubeus grunted. Isaac York would be able to rile him up today. Besides, he had been called much worse than ogre over the years. _

_Professor Slughorn swept into the room and all talking momentarily ceased. Instructions were given on how to brew the Draught of the Living Death and the Slytherin Head of House went to his paperwork. Rubeus immediately went to work, hoping that he could bury himself in work to avoid York's attempts to humiliate him. Unfortunately, things did not work out exactly as planned. As he was adding in the spider venom—which he conveniently got from Aragog—Rubeus felt his body grow somewhat lighter. It was strange; this never happened to him before. Even stranger still was the fact that he was no longer standing on the ground. He didn't know how it happened, but it did; somehow he was floating, as if he had wings or something. _How did that happened_? Rubeus wondered. _I know I didn't do this, not consciously. _But, if he did do this, then who did? Who made this happen?_

_"Hey, everyone! Take a look at Hagrid! It seems he inhaled the fumes from the potion," a cruel voice pointed out. "It seems he's turned into a pig as a result of it. Fly little piggy, fly."_

_Rubeus was furious; he was livid. This was York's doing. Somehow he was able to transfigure Rubeus into a pig. It was not clear as to how or why, but Rubeus was determined to find out. He tried calling out to someone, finding that he could not. All that came out was a squeal. _

_York chuckled. "Aw! Look at the little piggy."_

_Suddenly Rubeus felt the pig body he inhabited begin to soar around the room._ It's York again_. When he looked around, Rubeus saw what appeared to be a pair of white angel wings. He tried to use them, but it was to no avail. York seemed to be controlling him. And from the way he was careening, it appeared as if he was headed towards the occupant of the seat next to York. _

_In the seat next to York was a short young woman with curly strawberry blonde hair and electric blue eyes. Beside his worst enemy sat the girl he loved, the girl he had loved since he was thirteen. The fact he was about to dive-bomb the girl he loved would only cause Rubeus pain, and that seemed to be what Isaac was trying to do this time. This time Isaac was intent on ruining Rubeus's love life. It was truly the worst thing that cause possibly happen. _

_It was not of his own volition that any of this was done; it was Isaac. As Rubeus injured the girl of his dreams, he hoped that she would forgive him for all that transpired here today._

Vega gasped and covered her mouth at the sight she beheld. She elbowed Harry. "When I spent time wondering might have happened to him. I never expected anything like this. Why would Isaac York ever want to do something like that?" she asked. "Why would _anyone_?"

Harry shrugged. He was wondering the same thing. What was the reason behind Isaac York's immense hatred of the half-giant man? "I really couldn't say, Vega. But, I think we might be able to find out," Harry noted. "The memory doesn't seem to be over." For that, Harry was pleased. If the memory simply ended at that, it would leave many unanswered questions; questions that Vega would want to ask Hagrid about, but get no answers.

"There's more?" Vega asked.

"It seems so," Harry replied, pointing.

_Rubeus soon felt himself return to his original form, thanks to what appeared to be help from Professor Slughorn. "What is the meaning of this?" Professor Slughorn boomed, silencing the mixture of laughter and screams that echoed throughout the dungeon classroom that contained the Gryffindor and Slytherin students. "Why is one student attacking another?"_

_"Sir, it appears as if Mr. Hagrid decided it prudent to attack my twin sister. Poor Abigail has been scarred for life," Isaac explained, lying his way out of trouble. Can I take her up the Hospital Wing?"_

_"You may," Professor Slughorn replied. "Mr. Hagrid?"_

_"Yes, sir?" Rubeus asked._

_"See me after class," the Professor before resuming the lesson._

"His sister?" both Harry and Vega exclaimed.

"Hagrid had a crush on his enemy's sister?" Harry laughed. "Well, I suppose that would explain why Isaac hated Hagrid so much; he was protective of his sister and _already _despised Hagrid." Of course, there was still one question that remained. _What was so terrible about this memory that he didn't want to remember it? _The event in question did not seem so bad. In Hagrid's eyes, it was though. Harry wanted to know why that was. What happened to Hagrid in this world that made him wish for December 23rd, 1943 to be erased from his memory?

"But, why did he want this erased?" Vega wondered.

"That's what I was thinking," Harry noted. "Maybe we can find out."

"That's right," Vega realized suddenly. "If the memory was over, we would probably have been transported back to Room of Requirement. But, we're not. So, what else must be told?"

_When class ended, Rubeus stayed back as he was ordered to. Before the professor could utter a single word, Rubeus broke into a rehearsed speech. He had been thinking about this since the transformation and needed to get it off his chest. "Professor Slughorn, sir. I would never have attacked Ms. York if not for what her brother did. He was the one to transfigure me into a pig and ultimately forced me to attack his sister. You must understand that."_

_"But, why would Mr. York have his own sister attacked?" Slughorn asked. "Why he do that to his own sister?"_

_"To torture me," Rubeus insisted. _

_"I'm sorry, Mr. Hagrid. I simply can't believe that. Mr. York would never have his own sister attacked merely in order to torture you," Professor Slughorn replied. "I'm afraid that after the holidays you will have to serve three detentions. You must also lose seventy-five points for your attack on a student. You can go now, Mr. Hagrid. It's about time for dinner."_

_Rubeus nodded and headed up to the Great Hall for dinner, his mind reeling with what just happened. In fact, that was all Rubeus thought about during dinner, especially considering that Abigail had not yet returned from the Hospital Wing. Upon eating dinner, Rubeus made a rush for the Hospital Wing. He had to speak with Abigail, had to tell her how sorry he was for what happened. Rubeus hurried in and went straight for the bed where Abigail was laying. Someone stopped him before he could go by. "Mr. Hagrid, I'm afraid you must leave. Mr. and Ms. York insisted that you not be allowed to see her after what you did."_

_"But, Madam," Rubeus complained. _

_"I'm sorry, Mr. Hagrid. You must leave," she insisted. _

_However, Rubeus was not to be deterred. He pushed past the nurse and hurried over to Abigail's bed. "Abigail, I am so sorry for what happened. It wasn't even me who did this."_

_"And who was it?" Abigail shot back. _

_"Your brother," Rubeus said honestly. _

_"Why would my brother ever do this?" Abigail yelled, gathering her strawberry blonde hair with one hand and pointing to a long scar running down her left cheek. "_You_ were the one to do that and I will never forgive you for it." She pointed to the door. "Get out! I never want to see you ever again."_

_Dejectedly did Rubeus leave the Hospital Wing, trying to get his mind off what happened. But, he couldn't; the image of the scar on Abigail's cheek was burned into Rubeus's mind. There was no way he could ever forget seeing the scar—which might never fade—on the face of the girl he loved._

The two Gryffindors found themselves pulled back into the Room of Requirement. It seemed as if the memory was over. "He never wanted to see the scar that would forever mar the face of the girl he loved; Hagrid never wished to hold the knowledge that he was the one to make the scar appear," Vega realized. "That's why he wanted to oblivate himself."

"It could also explain why he never wanted to talk about it," Harry noted. "Dumbledore said he was never oblivated; reminiscing about his past will only further cause him grief. Poor Hagrid was forced to live with the knowledge that Isaac York forced him to harm the girl he loved, who also happened to his enemy's twin sister." Based on her story, Vega always asked about what happened in Hagrid's past; it seemed as if Vega's questioning only caused the half-giant groundskeeper more grief. "Rhapsody, you do realize that your constant questions about his past have upset the man. You have caused him even more pain."

She nodded. "I had no idea."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Abigail York…well, its Abigail Malfoy now," Vega said. She elaborated further at seeing Harry's confused look. "Sahara, Abigail Malfoy is Lucius Malfoy's mother, Draco's grandmother. I only ever met her twice; I've seen that faded scar before. While I was spending time with Draco, his grandmother appeared to speak with Andromeda about spending some time with Draco over the summer. I often wondered what the deal was with the scar, so did Draco actually. She never mentioned it. But, I'm guessing that dear old Isaac informed my cousin of Hagrid's part in what happened. It must be why he hates Hagrid so much."

"Yeah. That would explain it," Harry said. He spied the clock in the corner. "It seems our time here has ended. We need to get to our next classes." After sitting here and learning of Hagrid's past, Harry had no desire to leave the Room of Requirement; he wanted to leave more about this dimension.

Vega nodded. "Right. Now, remember; you must meet Draco and myself right back here. Draco is the next person that will show you about your life. Aside from the first animagus transformations, I'm not really sure what Draco has to show you. He only ever told me of his intent to show you that one; the rest you must uncover on your own." She picked up her things and headed out.

The emerald-eyed teenager sat there a little while longer. He wished to sit there the rest of the day and view memories from his life. Dumbledore only gave them ten days, one of which was already gone. If Harry was supposed to learn everything about his life before Christmas break, his time would be better spent viewing the memories that would enlighten him about his life rather than sitting through pointless classes. The problem with that however, was that only six people knew of Harry's lack of knowledge of this world; everyone else would think that Harry was skiving off Defense against the Dark Arts for no apparent reason.

Harry grimaced and picked up his things. There was no point in his staying in the Room of Requirement. People would start to suspect and that was not allowed to happen. He couldn't let anyone else become aware of the fact that he was without knowledge of this world. Already he spent a week in confusion; as much as he wanted it to end, there was no way it could. Things had to continue as they were. A confused Harry Potter emerged from the Room of Requirement and headed off; this journey of discovery would have to resume this evening.

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**Author's Note: I had an immense writer's block for this chapter. Since I had no plans to even write this chapter at all, it took me a good month before I figured out what Hagrid's worst memory was to be. Even as I was writing the last chapter - which was to _initially_ include this memory - I didn't know what I wanted it to be. Now that I'm back to my initial plan, the next chapter shouldn't take as long to get out. Hopefully, the next chapter _should_ be out by the end of the month.  
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	13. A Walk Down Memory Lane With Draco

**A Walk Down Memory Lane With Draco**

After attending some rather tedious classes, Harry happily headed off to dinner. In just a little while, he would get to view more memories of his life and gain a better understanding of the world he was in. Vega told him during their free period that Draco intended on revealing a very crucial memory to him tonight, a memory that had to be viewed if the Marauders and Lily Potter were to remain in the dark about what happened last week.

Harry spent his time chatting with Dean; it was mostly Dean who spoke however. Harry was more focused on his meeting with Vega and Malfoy to pay any attention to what Dean was talking about. The emerald-eyed teen's dinner quickly disappeared and he was soon on his way off to the Room of Requirement for what was to be the third time that day. Vega was waiting when he arrived, a smile on her face. "I figured you'd be here before Draco."

"Of course I would," Harry said. "Considering that I would have preferred to stay in the Room of Requirement all day viewing memories, there was no way that I would have waited. I want to figure this out; I need to figure this out." He slumped against the wall and waited for the third member of their party to appear. As it was to be Draco Malfoy who showed him the memories, it was pretty crucial for him to be there. Even in this alternate dimension where Draco seemed to have grown up in a loving family after his aunt took him in, Harry never wanted to rely on the Slytherin for help. But, it seemed as if he had no choice.

Vega rolled her eyes. "Tiberius, where are you?"

"Right here, Rhapsody," Malfoy replied.

"Took you long enough, cousin," she chuckled.

"Yes, well some of us actually like to take our time to eat. Some of us actually want to sit and speak with friends," Malfoy stated his gray eyes focused directly at Harry. "We didn't exactly have to do this now you know; you could have waited a half-hour to an hour before coming here." He scoffed. "But, no; you decide that it's too important for you to know your past than allowing me to have a little time to myself. Let's go then. I want to get this over with."

Harry grimaced and duly followed his _so-called_ friend into the Room of Requirement; Vega followed close behind, snickering as they went in. "This is going to be interesting," she muttered.

"What are you muttering about back there?" Harry asked as he, Vega, and Draco entered what appeared to be the same room from earlier today. He would prefer it much more if they would keep things quiet and view the memories. There wasn't very much time before the holidays; eight and a half days in fact. So, he would have to cram all of those memories into the time he _wasn't _in class or playing Quidditch. "Seriously, Lyre, it's not necessary."

"Yes. I would like to get on with this," Malfoy said. "I have several memories I need to show you. So, you had better get comfortable there, Sahara; there's a possibility that you'll be here for awhile."

_Perfect_, Harry thought. _I need to know more about my life and this is the only possible way for me to do so._ "Okay then, Draco. Show me the memories; I'd like to see more of my past." Since the confrontation yesterday regarding his own past, Harry had taken to calling the man that was supposedly his friend Draco out loud and Malfoy in his head. Harry would always think of him as his worst enemy; there was definitely no changing that.

Malfoy removed a memory his head and pushed it into the Pensieve. "The first memory is really the most important. Not viewing this particular memory could allow the Marauders to become aware of the fact that something is wrong. You _don't_ want that, Harry. So, peer inside."

As it was exactly what he wanted to do, Harry followed this order and peered inside the Pensieve. The emerald-eyed Gryffindor got sucked into the memory, landing in what appeared to be a parlor. He didn't recognize anything, so he assumed it to be _his_ home, the Potter house. "This is _your_ house, the home you live in with Rachel and your parents," Vega confirmed. "We almost had the transformations at Grimmauld Place, until James thought that it would easiest here. There would have been no need for you or Rachel to travel anywhere."

"Lyre, can you keep the chatter to a minimum," Malfoy scolded. "We're here to show Harry a memory, not small talk. Now come on. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."

The two Gryffindors shared a knowing glance before Harry focused on the memory. As even Malfoy stated before entering the memory, this was an important memory to watch; it would help him fool the Marauders and their respective wives of Harry's ignorance of this world. Harry looked over at the atrium and watched as Memory Draco came rushing by.

_While he stepped out into the Potter house from the fireplace in the living room, something occurred to him; Draco didn't understand why the location was changed from Grimmauld Place to Godric's Hollow. Personally, he would have preferred to have the transformations at his second cousin's place. Grimmauld Place seemed a more appropriate place to have the transformations. But, whatever; he would deal with this. As he hurried through the atrium and entered the parlor, Draco couldn't help but wonder if the Raiders would be able to all transform today. It was a difficult task to become an animagus and there was really no telling as to whether or not they could all do this today._

_"Draco, you're here," Harry stated._

_"Where are the others?" Draco asked._

_"Oh, well, Rachel and Brianna are in Dad's study with him and Moony. Right now we're waiting on Padfoot to arrive with Vega and Hermione in tow," Harry explained, scowling as he spoke Hermione's name. It never quite made any sense that Harry and Hermione would bear such hatred towards one another; their hatred was unfounded and uncalled for. "So, I'm not quite sure when we'll start. That can only be determined once everyone's here."_

_Draco nodded and accompanied his friend to the Potter study. As he sat there waiting for the arrival of his cousins and Hermione Granger, Draco spied the younger Potter and Brianna sitting in the corner speaking with the Potter patriarch. He seemed to be regaling them with a story from the Marauder days. "Reliving the golden days?" Draco asked, elbowing Harry. _

_Harry gave his Slytherin friend a strange look before catching on to what Draco meant by the off-handed statement. "Oh, yeah. He wants the girls to be prepared for when they enter Hogwarts come September. When they come to Hogwarts, there will be four legacies, from three-fourths of the Marauders. Dad would never pass up the opportunity to relive the golden days as you call them. He wants them to be prepared for the coming year."_

_"Peter Pan," Draco muttered, recalling the story Lily recounted to them several years ago. "Both of them. Your father and Sirius. Remus at least has matured a little bit. But, not your father or godfather; they act like they're still children. It's like you're the oldest male in the house."_

_"Mum, Rachel, and I came to accept that," Harry replied. "Somewhere deep inside, Dad will always be Prongs. It's the same with Padfoot. Dad and Sirius will always be children on some level."_

_"Well, someday their childish behavior could get them in trouble. Something could happen and they'll be forced to grow up." Draco grimaced. "At least you and Vega didn't follow in their footsteps. I don't think anyone could have taken much more of their antics."_

_Someone cleared their throat behind them. Draco and Harry turned to see the trio they were waiting for standing at the door. "Sometimes adults need to have fun," Sirius said. "Let loose."_

_"Dad!" Vega admonished. _

_"Can we please get on with this?" Hermione asked, peering around. "I'd really like to get out of here." Draco never quite understood why Hermione hated Harry so much. The hatred borne out of their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express seemed to have sprouted for no apparent reason. He and Vega did what they could to keep the peace over the past three years, but sometimes it was simply too much for the two cousins to handle. Harry and Hermione were each too stubborn in their convictions for him and Vega to do anything about it. _

_"Yeah!" Rachel agreed. "I want to see what animal I become."_

_"Then follow us," James decreed as he and Sirius led the group out into the back of the house. An area, as Draco soon realized, had been set up for them to use. "Now, who would like to go first?"_

_"I will, Mr. Potter," Hermione announced, stepping forward._

_Draco and the Marauder offspring watched carefully as the bushy-haired Ravenclaw concentrated on her animagus transformation. The rest of the group stood there for a few minutes before a small brown otter was perched where Hermione Granger once stood. Through the applause Hermione received for being the first to transform, Draco eyed the bushy otter. _Otters are supposed to be playful, bubbly little creatures_, Draco remembered thoughtfully. _How is Hermione—our brainy little know-it-all—any of those things?_ It seemed quite odd that their resident brainiac would be an otter. He expected an owl or perhaps a fox—a smart creature who would personify the Ravenclaw's most prominent personality trait: her brain—not a playful creature such as an otter. "Hermione, playful?" Draco chuckled._

_"You got a point there," Harry murmured. _

_The small brown otter disappeared and the bushy-haired Ravenclaw reappeared, storming over to where Harry and Draco were standing. "Harry James Potter, you better not be insulting me!"_

_"I assure you I wasn't," Harry defended. "You're just trying to pick a fight. Ray, Ri, how about the both of you transform next?" He elbowed Draco. "Five Galleons says Ri becomes a wolf."_

_"You're on," Draco laughed._

_Rachel and Brianna—at Harry's insistence—stepped up, willing themselves to transform. It took slightly longer than Hermione—since they were younger—for them to do so, but soon Rachel Potter and Brianna Lupin became a mangy little auburn-colored Shih Tzu dog and a silver tabby cat respectively. _

_"Drat!" Harry huffed, digging the five galleons out of his pocket and handing it to Draco. "I thought for sure that little Ri would be a wolf. How could she not be considering who her father is?"_

_"Seems she has more of her mother in her," Draco noted. "I'll go next." He shoved his newly-earned money into his pocket and stepped forward, concentrating on his inner animal as he did. Harry would flip if he learned that Draco was already aware of the form he would take. When he first discovered that Remus Lupin was a werewolf, Draco immediately went to look up animagi. In the process of doing so, he learned of his inner animal. And now, everyone else—Marauders and Raiders alike—would learn of it as well. Concentrating on his inner animal, Draco willed himself to change. His telltale platinum blond hair became the white fur that covered his body as a fluffy white tail sprouted. _

_"Bloody Hell!" he heard Harry gasp. "Dragon Boy's our wolf."_

_Draco, in his wolf form, smirked and trotted up to his friend. _This is what you get when you make assumptions, Potter. _He transformed back and eyed his friend warily. "So, Brianna was going to be the wolf, huh?" Draco asked. "I bet you're eating your words now."_

_"I had no way of knowing that you would be a wolf," Harry countered. "Everyone standing out here—not just me—thought that our little Lupin would be take after her father. Brianna becoming a cat and you being the wolf threw us for a loop. So, don't blame me."_

_"You're the one who made the bet," Draco reminded him._

_"Yes, and don't remind me," Harry grumbled. _

_Vega was the next to step forward and attempt a transformation. "This," Draco said to Harry, "should be interesting. Whatever animal she is, it's going to be black to stay true to her name."_

_"Remember though, you have Black blood running through your veins," Harry reminded the blond. "And yet you transformed into a white wolf. For all we know, Vega could take after her mother like so many of us have done; you and Brianna have clearly proved that it's not only the Marauders who have an influence over the decision regarding the transformation."_

_"Have you seen Sirius's personality though? It's overpowering," Draco said. "You can see that personality peeking through in Vega. At least in Vega's case, I think she'll take after Sirius."_

_"We'll see," Harry noted as they returned their attention to Vega. As he watched his second cousin begin her transformation, Draco couldn't help but wonder what was running through Prongs' and Padfoot's heads at the moment. Harry and Vega were the transformations they were truly looking forward to; Harry because he was the spitting image of his father with his mother's eyes and Vega because she was Sirius's daughter. They were the offspring of the two most prominent Marauders and they were the most anticipated transformations._

_A black fox soon appeared where Vega once stood and a rumble of laughter erupted at the other side of the yard. Draco peered over to see an older version of Harry laughing uncontrollably. It took awhile for the laughter to calm down, but as soon as it did, he turned to Sirius. "Well, Padfoot," he said. "It seems as if you should have named your daughter what we discussed."_

_"Must you bring that up, Prongs?" Sirius asked._

_"Your daughter is a fox!" James countered. "I think this conversation is long deserved and you know it. Maybe if that name never came up as a possibility, we wouldn't be having this conversation."_

_"What name?" Vega inquired, coming towards them after transforming back to her human form. "Dad, James, what are you two talking about that is so funny about my animagus form?"_

_Everyone else gathered around the two Marauders, wondering what was going on. This had never come up prior to this, so Draco couldn't help but wonder what was going on here. It appeared as if this conversation was had before between the two men, a long time ago. "Vega, do you recall the Black tradition in regards to naming their children?" Sirius asked of his daughter._

_She nodded. "Names are found within constellations whether they be stars or the name of the constellation themselves. But, what does that have to do with me? I'm already named for one."_

_"Ah, but you don't know the real story," James cut in. "There was a reason you were named Vega, namely that dear old Padfoot over here refused to name his daughter Vulpecula as your mother wanted. He thought it was a stupid name and they soon settled on Vega. But, there was a time when you were almost named for a fox constellation. I find it quite ironic that you are a fox just as your mother wanted you to be. How 'bout you, Padfoot?"_

_"Shut it, Prongs!" Sirius snapped._

_"See?" Harry whispered. "Takes after her mother."_

_"Her fur is still black," Draco countered. "Anyway, you're up."_

_Harry stepped forward to where the other five before him stood and took a few minutes to transform into his animagus form: a lion. "A true Gryffindor!" James exclaimed when he saw what he son became. _

_"Okay, now that we know that you can all transform. It must be determined as to what you will each be known as in each of your form," Sirius said. He turned to the five Raiders not in their animagus transformations. "Transform please. We will determine the names."_

_The Raiders transform and went to stand in a group. "Ms. Granger, please step forward." A small brown otter stepped forward. "Hermione Jean Granger, your Raider name will be River as your animagus form was as unpredictable as a river." The otter that was Hermione nodded and stepped back into the group. "Ms. Potter, please step forward." The auburn-colored Shih Tzu trotted up to the forefront. "Rachel Erin Potter," her father said, "your Raider name will be Sol, a Portuguese word for sun which reflects the nickname of Ray that you were given as a little girl." The Shih Tzu dog that was Rachel gave a small yip and returned to the group. "Ms. Lupin, please step forward." The silver tabby trod up to the front. "Brianna Ophelia Lupin, your Raider name will be Mist as that is what your fur looks like." The tabby that was Brianna meowed and stepped back._

_James stepped back and Sirius stepped forward. It appeared as if he would be taking overt in the naming. "Mr. Malfoy, please step forward." Draco left his place next to Harry and stepped forward, awaiting his name. "Draco Lucius Malfoy-" Draco cringed at the middle name as he hated hearing the name of the man who murdered his mother, "your Raider name is Tiberius because of your white fur." Draco smirked at the name he was given and returned to his place in the group. "Ms. Black, please step forward." A fox, as black as night, stepped towards her father so he could determine her Raider name. "Vega Vulpecula Black, your Raider name is Rhapsody for your name's connection to music." The fox nodded briefly and returned to the group. "Mr. Potter, please step forward." From the back of the group, the lion stepped forward. "Harry, James Potter, your Raider name will be Sahara like the habitant of the lion." The lion roared proudly and trotted back over to the group where he led them in transforming back into their human forms. _

_While was going on, Draco overheard a conversation between James and Sirius. "Padfoot, I never knew you gave your daughter the middle name of Vulpecula," James said._

_"You never asked. I compromised and allowed Vulpecula to be her middle name. But, I refused to stand for it being her given name," Sirius explained to his friend. "Now let's drop it."_

_James laughed. "No wonder she's a fox."_

_Draco turned to the group. "Well, that was an interesting experience, don't you think?" he asked. _

_Everyone nodded. "Agreed."_

Harry, Vega, and Draco soon returned to the Room of Requirement as that was the end of the memory. After quickly flicking a glance towards Vega who knew that he wanted to see this memory from their conversation earlier in the day, Harry crashed down onto the couch. "Wow."

"I suggest you try it," Draco said. "The full moon comes during Christmas break and we need to be able to transform if we're going to be around Moony. Can't have the Marauders learning of your amnesia."

"I get it," Harry groused. Just as in the memory, Harry concentrated on his animagus form—a lion—and hoped that this was going to work. As he was concentrating, he felt a slight shift in his skeleton, as if his bones were rearranging themselves. _It's working_, Harry thought as his body, as it shifted, sprouted a faint yellow fur and a small mane appeared round his head.

Vega nodded in approval. "Great, Harry. We'll fool them yet," she said to Draco. "They'll never know. Now transform back and we'll continue this. Draco still has more to show you."

Harry did as he was told and turned to Draco. "What memory is up next there, Tiberius?" he asked.

"Our sorting," Draco replied.

"You're kidding!" Harry exclaimed.

"Not at all, Sahara," he said, pulling the memory from his head and sending it into the Pensieve. "Take a look, Harry. This is one memory you will never forget. I know I haven't."

Harry peered inside and was sucked into the memory; Vega and Draco following close behind. When he landed, Harry looked around, finding that he was standing at the train station, watching as four very familiar little first-years climbed off of the Hogwarts Express.

_Draco was glad to be off the train after the trip from hell. Everything had started out okay with him, Harry, and Vega boarding the train. But, as soon as he and Harry slipped off, Vega made herself a friend in a bushy-haired muggleborn girl by the name of Hermione Granger. And, when he and Harry found Vega, a spat ensued between Harry and Hermione. Draco and Vega spent half the time settling the argument and the young Malfoy was glad it was over with. He could simply forget about what happened on the train and focus on the splendor that was Hogwarts they would be heading towards in a few minutes._

"What _did_ happen on the train?" Harry inquired, for he had been wondering about that since learning of his apparent hatred of the girl who was _supposed_ to be one of his best friends.

"You'll find out soon enough," Draco answered. "It's the memory Hermione has chosen to show you. Now forget that for the moment and watch carefully. You'll soon learn why Weasley hates us so much."

"Excellent," Harry grinned. "I wondered about that."

"Well, wonder no longer," Vega said, pointing towards the group.

_"Firs' years this way!" a deep, booming voice called. _

_Draco snapped to attention upon hearing that voice. It was time to go up to Hogwarts. "Come on," he hissed to Harry, Vega, and Hermione as they trailed behind him. "Hogwarts awaits us."_

_The group stepped into a small boat, enchanted to glide across the lake. As they got their first look of the castle, each member of the group gasp, staring at the majestic beauty of Hogwarts. There was a certain ethereal quality about the way the castle reflected in the water, its lights seemingly twinkling in the water. "Brilliant!" Harry declared from beside Draco._

_"Amazing!" Vega agreed._

_Their boat soon docked, allowing the group of four to emerge. Along with the other first-years, they made the trip up the stairs to wait for them to be collected. Draco leaned up against the railing, waiting for them to be called. His cousin was at his side while Harry preferred to stand up at the front of the group. As for Hermione, the muggleborn girl was chatting with a few other people. While he stood there, Draco heard soft murmurs from the other students, but paid it no mind, at least until a red-headed boy bumped into Harry. "Hey, watch it!" _

_"Watch where you're going!" Harry shot. _

_"Hey!" the red-head shouted. "Don't talk to me like that."_

_"I'll talk to you however I want," Harry retorted. "And may I remind you that _you_ were the one bump into me, you miserable little git. I'd suggest you keep that fact in mind the next time you decide to accuse me of something I most certainly didn't do. Now, back off."_

_"You just made a powerful enemy," the red-head growled._

_"We've been here five minutes and already we have an enemy," Draco groused to his cousin. "I'm telling you, Vega, this better not happen all year otherwise I am going to be very put out."_

_"I doubt it," Vega whispered. "It's only the Weasleys' son. He's an extremely disagreeable sort. An only child; spoiled rotten. I doubt we'll ever have to worry about him."_

_"You better be right, Lyre," Draco said. _

_A few minutes passed before a severe-looking woman—who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall—came forward, asking that the students follow her for the Sorting Ceremony. The group of students trooped after the Deputy Headmistress, gasping in amazement as they entered the Great Hall. Draco barely paid attention to what was being said, until he heard the names getting called out by Professor McGonagall. "Vega Black!"_

_Vega emerged from Draco's side and took a seat on the stool, Professor McGonagall placing the Sorting Hat on her head. His cousin sat there for a few moments before the Sorting Hat gave an answer. "Gryffindor!"_

_The Black daughter bounded down and took a seat at the Gryffindor table beside two red-headed boys. After learning that the Marauders were all Gryffindors—compared to the rest of the Black family who were in Slytherin—it was clear that Vega would be in Gryffindor. With Harry and perhaps even Hermione because of the way she stood up to Harry, there was a chance for them to be Gryffindors. This was definitely not the case with Draco. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd be a Slytherin, like every other Black, aside from Sirius and Vega. "This is definitely going to cause a problem here."_

_After five more people were called, "Professor McGonagall called up another recognizable name. "Hermione Granger!"_

_The muggleborn took a seat under the Sorting Hat. "Ravenclaw!"_

_Draco grimaced. "We could be separated into all four houses," he grimaced._

_"Draco Malfoy!" the professor called. _

_The young Malfoy clamored up to the stool where it only took a matter of seconds for his house to be called. "Slytherin!"_

_"Knew it!" Draco grumbled as he made his way over to the Slytherin table. There was just one other member of their group left to be sorted: Harry. And, based on the house his parents were in, chances were that he, like Vega, would be placed in Gryffindor. It was bound to occur._

_"Harry Potter!" Professor McGonagall called a few minutes later._

_The messy-haired emerald-eyed boy took a seat where the Sorting Hat called out the expected result. "Gryffindor."_

_"Great!" Draco murmured sarcastically. "I'm separated from my cousin and best friend. "How are we supposed to pull the Raider plans when we've been separated into three different houses?"_

Harry and his friends returned to the Room of Requirement. "Was Ron really such a jerk?" he asked.

"Oh, absolutely!" Vega exclaimed. "After that, he tried making your life a living hell. We mostly ignored him though, with a little help from Fred and George. Weasley tried his hardest to get you into trouble, especially with his uncle. So, avoid him as much as you can. If he ever discovered that you're currently clueless about what's going on in this world, well I have no idea as to what he might try. Whatever it is that Weasley tries, I can assure you that it will not end well."

"So, that means no going near him whatsoever; no provoking him," Draco warned him. "It simply won't do to have Weasley on our case while we're trying to re-educate you about your life."

"I get it," Harry said. "Anymore memories?"

"Not from me," the blond replied. "But, I believe its Vega's turn next."

Vega shook her head, her silver eyes glittering. "I did mine this morning. There were certain things I had to explain to him and that involved showing him my memories during our free period."

"Rhapsody, I thought we went over that I was going to go first," Draco complained. "The memories I had to show him were more important than any other memory we had to show him."

"I know that, Tiberius. Of course, Harry asked me about something that you would never answer," Vega countered. "So, rather than waiting to explain it, I opted to show him the memories."

"So then, it's _her_ turn next?" Draco asked.

"Of course," Vega said.

"Well, _that_ should be interesting then," he mused.

Harry eyed the two gray-eyed teens in utter confusion. "Whose memories am I viewing next?" he asked.

Draco ignored Harry's question, pulling a small mirror out of his pocket. "Well, if Vega has already explained her part of things, it seems as if I must call upon our next source of memories," he muttered in a quiet voice. A face was reflected in the mirror, one that Harry could not make out until he heard the next words out of Draco's mouth. "Ray, we need to talk."

_

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_

**Author's Note: As promised, this chapter is up at the end of the month. With the next chapter however, I don't exactly know when it will be up. A discussion must be had before I write the next chapter. Add to that the time it takes for me to actually write the memory chapters - which often takes awhile with the length of the memories combined with how much effort I put into writing each of these chapters - and I'm guessing that it won't be until the end of _next_ month that the next chapter will be up.  
**

**Leave a review.  
**


	14. A Walk Down Memory Lane With Rachel

**A Walk Down Memory Lane With Rachel**

_Rachel's up next?_ Harry wondered. He had been hoping that there might be some explanation as to the reason Hermione hated him so much. Of course, it appeared as if Harry would have to wait when it came to that; Rachel Potter was up next when it came to the memories. Harry peered over at Vega and Malfoy, who appeared to be engaged in deep conversation with the younger Potter. _"But, wasn't Rhapsody supposed to go next?" _ she asked.

"I am quite aware of that fact, Sol," Malfoy answered. "But, it seems as if Rhapsody decided that she was going to show her memories earlier today. I doubt she showed him all the memories that were planned though. There's one memory she flat out refused to show him, for whatever reason."

"I have a very good reason," Vega remarked. "Telling Harry about _that_ would be extremely stupid, so I chose not to show it to him. So, don't you worry about that. The memory you're referring to will be revealed when the time is right. Now, Ray, we need you here."

_"Can we wait until tomorrow?" _Rachel asked. _"I'm sort of in the middle of something here."_

"I'd rather it get done now," he insisted.

_"Hold on them," _Harry heard his sister say. _"I'll be right over."_

The mirror was put away and the Slytherin turned to face his Gryffindor cousin and friend. "Your sister is on her way over here. She has a few memories to show you," Malfoy explained.

"I sort of figured that," Harry scoffed. _Of course Rachel would be coming here to show me memories of my life. I can't think of a reason she wouldn't. _He sat there waiting for his younger sister to arrive, wondering what memories she would show him. In viewing Rachel's memories, Harry could gain a better understanding of his life before entering Hogwarts. Thus far, he knew a little of it, but that was to be expected as very little of his home life in this world had been revealed. They mostly focused on Hogwarts at the moment. But, with Rachel, he might actually find some answers regarding his home life and what that was like.

Rachel arrived ten minutes later. "Why," she asked, "did you insist that this be done now, Draco? It could have been done at any time. I was with…" she cast a glance at her brother, "…a friend."

"Oh, yes," Vega laughed. "Your _friend_!"

Harry eyed the three of them in confusion. They seemed to be talking in code, discussing a topic that he was not yet allowed to know anything about. He coughed, reminding them of his presence. "Oh, yes, Harry," his sister remembered. "Almost forgot you were standing there."

"Almost forgot?" Harry questioned. "You do realize that _I'm _the reason you're here, right?"

"Yes, I know," she replied. "Now, regarding the memories." Rachel removed a memory and dumped it into the Pensieve before turning to face her older brother. "The first memory I have to show you is that of my Sorting, the first day I ever caught a glimpse of Hogwarts. So, peer in, older brother, and take a look at what my first day at Hogwarts was like."

Though it was not really on the top of his to-do list, Harry looked into the Pensieve and was sucked into his younger sister's memory of two years prior. After he hit ground, Harry soon realized that Rachel jumped in with him to view the memory alongside her older brother. Before the Potter children moved any further, Harry questioned Rachel about what was going on "Why," he asked his sister, "are you showing me this memory?"

Rachel shrugged. "The odd result of the Sorting caused Ri and me to have to show you the Sorting. Several generations of Gryffindors—yourself included—run in our family. No one quite knew why I would be the exception to that. So, it was suggested that I show you."

His sister's reasoning was good enough. The confused teen wondered how Rachel became a Hufflepuff compared to a Gryffindor as Harry and both their parents were. "Okay then, Ray; lead the way."

_As she stepped off the Hogwarts Express with the rest of the Raiders—Harry, Draco, Vega, Hermione, and Brianna—Rachel stood there for a moment. This was the first day of Hogwarts, the day she and Brianna had been waiting for since Dad first began telling them stories of Hogwarts seven years ago. Harry turned to his sister. "Sol, you and Mist will have to stay here for the moment. The groundskeeper, Hagrid, should be over here momentarily to lead the first years up to the castle." He and the older Raiders headed towards a carriage. "See you up at the castle!" he called as he stepped into the carriage and headed to the castle._

_Rachel glanced over at Brianna. "Let's go find Hagrid."_

_The younger two marauders meandered around for a moment before locating a large man. Rachel could have sworn he was a giant. Or maybe it just appeared that way because she was only eleven. She couldn't say for certain if this was Hagrid though, until she heard him speak in a deep booming voice to the thirty-seven—she counted—students waiting around. "Firs' years this way!"_

_Rachel and Brianna melded into the group, talking with each other as they stepped into one of the boats that would take them across the lake. "Wow, would you look at that?" Brianna said in awe. _

_"It's magical," Rachel agreed. _

_"Hogwarts is going to be fun," Brianna murmured. _

_"With the Raiders around," the young Potter said, "Hogwarts won't ever be the same. It'll be like the Marauder years all over, only even worse since we're three years younger."_

_"A full decade of Raiders?" Brianna asked. Rachel nodded and her friend laughed. "It's going to be absolutely torturous at Hogwarts now. Especially now that cats, dogs, wolves, foxes, otters, and lions have been unleashed upon Hogwarts. They'll never know what hit them now that Mist, Sol, Tiberius, Rhapsody, River, and Sahara have been created."_

_The group of thirty-seven students docked their boats and headed up to the school. Rachel and Brianna cast a glance at each other as a severe-looking woman stepped forward to lead them to the Great Hall. Rachel could see her brother and Vega seated at the Gryffindor table along with two red-headed boys Rachel knew as Fred and George Prewett as she passed. Potters were known for being Gryffindors, so she expected the same out of her Sorting. With Brianna, Rachel knew, the result wasn't going to be that simple; her father was a Gryffindor, her mother a Slytherin. No one, not even Brianna, quite knew how the Sorting would turn out for the young Lupin. Rachel hoped that the younger two Raiders would not be separated, that they would both be in Gryffindor by night's end._

_Several names were called by the woman who brought them in, who introduced herself as the Transfiguration teacher Professor McGonagall; eventually a name Rachel wanted to hear was called. "Brianna Lupin!"_

_Rachel's best friend headed up to take a seat on the stool, the Sorting Hat getting placed on her head. Brianna spoke with the hat for a few minutes before a result was called out. "Slytherin!" _

_"We've been separated," Rachel whispered, watching as Brianna skipped over to sit beside Draco. "It looks like Brianna and I may end up in rival houses because of this. Even if Harry and Draco were able to defy such a thing, there's only ever one exception to every rule. Our childhood friendship may not be able to last because of what happens with the Sorting."_

_Rachel went up several names later. "Rachel Potter!"_

_The younger Potter set herself down under the Sorting Hat. "Ah!" the Sorting Hat declared. "You could go to one of two places. Gryffindor, like your parents and brother before or…"_

_"No!" Rachel insisted. "Not that."_

_"Not Gryffindor?" the Sorting Hat asked. _

_As much as Rachel wanted to be in Gryffindor like her family and Vega, there was no way that Rachel wanted to lose her friendship with Brianna over it. They had been friends since they were little, the offspring of two Marauders. "I can't lose my friend because of it," Rachel said. _

_"Loyalty to your friends? And, your brother?" the hat asked._

_"We will always be siblings," Rachel replied. _

_"Loyalty to your brother as well!" the hat exclaimed. "Rachel Potter, I do believe I know exactly where you belong. Unwavering loyalty to your friends, but even still to your family. HUFFLEPUFF!"_

_As the newly-minted Hufflepuff skipped off to the Hufflepuff table, she caught a glimpse of her brother and Vega exchanging confused glances. It seemed as if Rachel would one day have to explain all of this to her older brother, why Hufflepuff became her destination rather than Gryffindor. "I'll tell him at one point," Rachel said quietly. "He needs to understand why this happened."_

_"Hi, I'm Annie Harper," a blonde girl said._

_"Rachel Potter," she responded, taking a seat between Annie and an older boy with dark brown hair. She looked past a girl with curly black hair and a tall boy with golden brown hair to see Brianna chatting away with some of the people at her table, Draco included. Now that she was in Hufflepuff, Rachel could remain friends with Brianna without any trouble; Hufflepuff and Slytherin had not the rivalry that Gryffindor and Slytherin had. The Raiders, now separated into the four houses, would find a way to stick together as a result of this._

Harry and his younger sister returned to the Room of Requirement. "Now do you see why I'm a Hufflepuff?" she asked. "Though I would have done well in Gryffindor—like any other member of the Potter family—my loyalty to my friends and family proved my worth as a Hufflepuff."

"I think I get it," Harry shrugged.

"Okay," Rachel said, pulling out a new memory. "This next one is one of my favorite memories. It should help you understand what type of personality I have." She dropped the memory into the Pensieve and turned to her brother. "Look in, Harry, and see why I love this memory."

Not wasting any time, Harry peered into the Pensieve and was sucked into the memory, her sister once again following behind him. "What is this memory anyway?" he asked his sister.

"The end of my first year, just after finals," Rachel explained.

Realizing that he was not about to get much more of an answer from his sister, Harry turned to the memory, seeing Memory Rachel, Fred, and George talking amongst each other.

_The young Hufflepuff was exceeding pleased that Fred and George would think to include her in this latest prank. Rachel always admired their pranks. Whereas the Raiders were the purveyors of peace and house-unity, the Prewett twins were a lot like the original Marauders; pranksters extraordinaire. "Are you two ready over there?" Rachel asked._

_Fred and George stood at the entrance to the castle, their wands pointed at the two buckets hovering in the air, one filled with fish guts, the other filled with glitter. These two buckets—the fish guts over Fred and the glitter over George—were set to fall on two unsuspecting targets as they headed outside. In Rachel's eyes however, they were targeting the wrong ones with each bucket. The twins wanted to toss the glitter on Professor Snape while the fish guts landed on one of the students; it didn't matter who. "Yeah!" they called._

_Rachel muttered a spell to swap the contacts of the two buckets as Cedric Diggory rounded the corner with Professor Snape. The Hufflepuff ran over to watch the prank. "Fred! George! Now!"_

_Chaos ensued as the buckets' contents were dumped, though not in the way that the Prewett twins expected. While the fish guts landed on Professor Snape, Cedric, not realizing what had happened, continued walking, only to realize that he was **sparkling **__in the sun. Rachel laughed as he freaked out. "AHH! I'm a vampire! Someone please help me! I'm a VAMPIRE!"_

_"Completely worth it," Rachel muttered as she watched the scene play out; a scene that eventually ended with Cedric jumping up and hiding in a tree. "Cedric Diggory would never look good in fish guts. It's much funnier to see him running around in glitter, like a vampire."_

_"Yes," Fred agreed._

_"Much funnier," George finished._

_"Prewett! Prewett! Potter!" Snape yelled. _

_"Yes, professor?" they asked. _

_"Forty points from Gryffindor. Twenty points from Hufflepuff."_

_The trio of troublemakers shared a glance. "Completely worth it!"_

The Potter siblings shared a glance in the Room of Requirement before Harry burst out laughing. "Cedric ran across the courtyard yelling that was a vampire?" he asked his younger sister.

Rachel nodded. "Funny thing is that Cedric went out into the Muggle world a little while later and began portraying a vampire who _sparkles_. I couldn't stop laughing for a good hour when I found out. The twins too. Our little joke became a whole career for him," his sister explained.

One good thing that had come out of Voldemort no longer existing was that the people he cared about hadn't died. Harry had nightmares for weeks about Cedric's murder. So, it was good to see that Cedric was able to have a life, rather than the death that awaited him in his own world. It was relief seeing all the pain and suffering that Voldemort caused reversed; it would allow the Wizarding World to have a normal life, a more carefree life. Harry nodded. "Okay. Are we done then?"

"One more memory," Rachel informed him.

"And, what is that memory?" Harry inquired of his sister as she removed the memory from her head and dumped it into the Pensieve. "What's so important that you must show _this_ memory?"

"Just watch," Rachel told him. "I'll explain in the memory."

Only because his sister agreed to explain what was going on did Harry look into the Pensieve. Rachel soon joined him. "Okay, Ray, what is it? What's the point of this memory?"

"My last birthday," Rachel replied. "My thirteenth was a very important one. I need to show you the events that transpired that day. If you don't know about this, Mum and Dad might suspect something."

"How come?" Harry asked.

Rachel eyed her brother, her hazel brown eyes sparkling. "There are certain things mentioned within this memory that you need to know. No, not _might_; _definitely_," she replied. "Mum and the Marauders are sure to suspect what's going on if you have no knowledge of this." Rachel stepped forward, almost stepped through the wall; Harry followed his sister, confused as to what was going on and hoping for a possible explanation.

When the emerald-eyed teenager reached his sister, Harry found himself and the rest of the Raiders sitting in a version of the Room of Requirement. This time, the Raiders were seated around a small table…well, all except his sister; Rachel was getting led into the room for something.

_The sole Hufflepuff Raider meandered into the room, getting led in by her best friend; before starting their trek down here, Brianna decided that she was going to blindfold her friend. Rachel wondered what was going on today, on this Wednesday afternoon. It was around four o'clock in the afternoon when Brianna blindsided her. As the dog animagus got blindly led around the castle, Rachel wondered what was going on. Under normal circumstances, Rachel would start the day speaking to one of the Raiders; that didn't happen this morning. The only contact Rachel had with any of the Raiders was when Brianna came to blindfold her._

_"How much further do we have?" Rachel inquired._

_"Not much further," Brianna assured her. _

_Though it couldn't be seen beyond the blindfold, Rachel rolled her eyes; she didn't believe that. She already spent perhaps ten to fifteen minutes under the blindfold, not all that fun. "Seriously, Ri, where are we going?" the Hufflepuff questioned. "What's going on?"_

_"Think about it, Ray," Brianna laughed._

_A few moments passed before the blindfold was removed. Rachel looked about the room only to find that the remaining for Raiders were seated at a table, slightly lackadaisical regarding everything that was going on. A stack of items and a cake was on the table. "I should have known," Rachel muttered. Today was her thirteenth birthday, and Rachel had to admit that it started rather weird. Presents were not stacked at the bottom of her bed when she woke up that morning, as they had in previous years. Not even the ones from the Marauders were there. And, that surprised her since no one could gain access to her gifts. She eyed her brother warily, wondering how this happened. "How are all my presents sitting in here?"_

_"Annie and Gabby got them to us before you woke," Vega replied._

_The second-year nodded. Rhapsody's logic made sense; they conspired to throw what appeared to be a surprise party. Someone—she wasn't sure who, though it appeared to either Vega or Brianna—must have spoken with her roommates about what was planned this afternoon. "Clever," Rachel murmured. _

_"Well, we had to get you somehow," her brother declared. "We do this to everyone at least once during Hogwarts. "No one knows exactly when it occurs, a tradition we picked up from the Marauders to see just how much each one of us pays attention. Thus far, only Draco has come close to figuring it out."_

_"I never knew that," Rachel intoned. _

_"You wouldn't," her brother replied. "It was only ever mentioned to me by Dad when he and Padfoot did so on my twelfth birthday. That was when Dad informed me of the tradition the Marauders began."_

_"And, where are the twins, Annie, and Gabby?" Rachel asked. _

_"Not sure where the twins are, but Annie and Gabby are on the couch," the resident Ravenclaw stated, pointing to the couch where two girls decked in yellow were seated. The girl with goldenrod-colored hair was Annie Harper, the first person Rachel met upon getting sorting into Hufflepuff. Short curly black hair belonged to Gabby Lancaster, who Rachel was seated across from during the feast. The three became rather close, though not as close as Rachel was with Brianna and the other Raiders. No matter what, they would always be the closest to the younger Potter. "I can't believe you two were in on this," Rachel mumbled. "How were they able to convince you two to pull such a stunt with them?"_

_"We just wanted to surprise you," Annie replied._

_"Thought it'd be fun," Gabby piped up. _

_"And, you decide to team of with the Raiders in order to do so? That seems a rather odd way to go about something like this." She eventually let it drop, moving on to something else that was on her mind. "Now, where could Fred and George be?" Rachel wondered. The Prewett twins were definitely two of her favorite people that were not a part of the Raiders. Somehow, Rachel's personality was always appeared to be more like the Marauders than any of the Raiders ever were, more like her father's and Padfoot's personalities than Harry, Vega, and Brianna ever were. She enjoyed pranking students, her favorite being last year when she and the twins decided to prank Cedric Diggory. The Raiders were never pranksters as the predecessors were; they were more for house-unity than being pranksters._

_The trio of Hufflepuff second-years adjourned from the couch over to the table and arranged themselves in the empty seats around the table. At the head of the table was where Rachel situated herself with her brother and Draco on either side of her. Hermione was seated on the other side of Draco while Vega sat on Harry's left. Annie, Brianna, and Gabby were looking over Rachel's shoulder as the Hufflepuff prepared to open her presents. Upon opening her gifts to find assorted books, sweets, and clothes from her friends, parents, and the other Marauders, Rachel found that the cake was levitated in front of her. Rachel set all the gifts aside as the cake was lowered in front of her. It was at that point that the Raiders, Annie, and Gabby started singing Happy Birthday to her._

_"Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday, dear Rachel._

_Happy Birthday to you!"_

_As the six people around her finished singing, Rachel noticed that Brianna, Annie, and Gabby had shifted to join Harry and Vega. Rachel, of course, still felt someone standing behind her. Draco and Hermione were still sitting opposite of her brother and Vega, so that left only one conclusion: the twins. "Fred! George! What are you two up to behind me?" She spun around to find the Prewett twins standing behind her, looking seemingly innocent. _

_"How'd you know?" Fred asked. _

_"We were sure you wouldn't," George added. _

_Rachel grinned. "I've been around you two since I was eight year-old," the Hufflepuff reminded them. The first time Rachel ever met the Prewett twins was when Vega happened upon them during a trip to Diagon Alley just before Harry went for his school supplies. He went on to prepare for his first year when Vega happened upon the twins. After that meeting, the Prewett twins spent at least a week with the Marauders and Raiders, a fact that eventually helped Fred and George become some of the best pranksters that Hogwarts had seen in twenty years. Trying to scare people by standing behind them was one of their specialties. And, it was not about to work on Rachel Erin Potter._

_"Drat!" George exclaimed. "We were so sure…"_

_"…that our plan would work," Fred finished._

_"Well, that's unfortunate," Rachel mused. "Now, what do you two have for me?" The twins were the only ones who had yet to give her a gift. And, knowing Fred and George, it would most likely be something prank related. Fred and George exchanged a glance before two gifts were handed over to the younger Potter. She set them on the table and got ready to open them._

Before Harry could see what the twins were giving his younger sister, Rachel elbowed him. "The Marauder/Raider tradition of the surprise party is occurring over the holiday," Rachel informed him. "Vega's birthday is on December 23rd, just two days before Christmas. It's imperative that you know that as it was decided that this would be Vega's year for the surprise party. Everyone except Vega is aware of what we intend on doing, so, had we not informed you of this, Mum, Dad, Padfoot, and Moony would get suspicious. You were the one to suggest it be Vega's year, so it might seem a little odd that you know nothing about the plan. That's why I had to show you this memory, Harry."

"Makes sense, I suppose," Harry shrugged.

"Good; the only way I could tell you about this was within the memory," Rachel said. "The fact that Vega and Draco are sitting out there in the Room of Requirement prevents anyone from telling you."

"I got it," Harry murmured. Rachel was giving her brother a lot more to worry about with just this memory. And, it almost seemed as if his younger sister was hiding something more from Harry. The fact that Rachel wasn't all that forthcoming with specific information was disconcerting; he needed to know what was going on, not have secrets concealed from him. Rachel, Draco, and Vega seemed to be dancing around at least two different topics, refusing to speak of them.

"Harry, there's a little more to this memory," his sister stated.

"Okay," the confused teen replied.

_Upon analyzing the two gifts the twins handed her, Rachel pushed one aside and began tearing at the other one. Rachel knew that at least one of the gifts was a prank and she was pretty sure that it was the one she pushed aside. A large portion of the wrapping paper fell away from the flat package and the Hufflepuff stared down at what she found inside. A large wooden box sat in front of her, with four different letters inscribed into the top of the box in gold script: RP, FP, and GP. "Boys, what's in here?" the Hufflepuff inquired of the Prewett twins. She had her suspicions, but couldn't be sure that it was the truth. The fact that her initials—as well as the twins—were engraved onto the box may have cemented the idea in her mind, but there was no guarantee that this was what she expected it to be. _

_"Just open it, Rachel," Fred prodded._

_"And you will see," George grinned._

_The Hufflepuff shrugged and removed the top of the box, only to find a single piece of paper sitting inside. Rachel removed it and read the note carefully, wondering what was going on._

_Stay back after everyone else leaves; _

_We'll show you what cannot be seen._

_Fred & George._

_It was a rather curious message for them to leave, almost as if the other Raiders and her roommates were not allowed to know what the twins' true gift was. And, if this was a gift no one was allowed to see, it appeared as if the other gift might not be exactly what she thought it was. Rachel retrieved the second gift and opened it to find a lock and key staring back at her, a second note attached._

_You'll know what to do with this in time._

_Glancing between the box and the lock, Rachel suspected that she did know. But, the Raiders, Annie, and Gabby would have to leave the Room of Requirement if she wished to be sure. Rachel doubted in would take very long; Annie and Gabby was already getting rather fidgety. And, the Raiders would soon follow allowing Rachel to find out what the twins were up to. _

_The group of ten gobbled up their cake and filed out of the room about an hour later, leaving the twins and Rachel. Annie and Gabby carried their roommate's presents—excluding the ones from Fred and George—back to their dorm. Rachel was quite insistent about keeping the twins' gifts with her, choosing not to reveal why. Once she was sure that everyone had gone, Rachel turned to face Fred and George, box in hand. "The box, boys; what's in the box?"_

_Both boys pulled their wands out to tap the box. "__**Specialis Revelio**.__"_

_Rachel removed the top and found that the previously empty box was now filled with several joke products. "Did you really just give me this?" Rachel asked, her eyes lighting up._

_"We did indeed," Fred stated proudly._ _"We want you to help us market our products: Prewetts' Prankster Purveys. Your father and his friends, from what we've heard, were legends at Hogwarts. Since the others refuse to help us, we thought _**_you_**_ might like to help; you always did admire our pranks, even helped last year," George explained. _

_"Yes, I did," Rachel laughed, recalling Cedric Diggory's __vampire transformation__ at the end of last year. It was one of the proudest moments of her young life. She took one look at the box and nodded. "I'll definitely help; I'm like one of the old Marauders, wanting to prank people throughout my days at school." Though Mum's lessons in self-control did help ground her a bit; she wasn't as reckless as the Marauders. And _that_ would help her over the years._

_"Excellent!" the twins declared._ _"Now, one question; how do I keep _this_," she pointed to the box's contents, "hidden from everyone. Someone could find out that I have it and try to confiscate it. Especially if it's Filch or Snape." They were primary Marauder targets and the pair of them liked to make hers, Harry's, Vega's, and Brianna's lives miserable. Snape's hatred of them—especially for her and Harry—ran far deeper and Rachel wondered why that was. In any case, she was not about to let the Potions Master confiscate this box; it would do her no good to lose it._

_"Hand me the lock and key," George said. Rachel did so and the lock was attached to the box. As he turned the key, a spell was uttered. "_**_Specialis Occulto_**. _That should do it. The key is what will activate the magic to hide the purveys and keep anyone from learning about this."_

_Rachel nodded. "Thanks."_

Before the memory ended, Harry turned to his sister. "Did you really agree to help the twins with their business?" he questioned the third-year Hufflepuff that was his younger sister.

"Yeah," she replied, "the twins thought it would be prudent to have someone in Hogwarts helping them. The Prankster Purveys would more than likely get sold to Hogwarts students anyway, so they want someone on the inside after they leave this year. I was the best person for the job."

Harry chuckled. "In my time, the twins are Weasleys; they referred to their business as Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Though, they were definitely banned once Dumbledore became aware of it."

"Looks like some things remain the same in either world," Rachel mused.

"Yes, I suppose so," Harry stated. _Though a lot of things are different. Such as the fact that you, Vega, and Brianna don't even exist. Malfoy and I hate each other and Hermione is one of my best friends._ The emerald-eyed teen turned back to the memory and watched the rest of it play out.

_With the box tucked securely under her arm, Rachel bid goodbye to the twins and headed off to the Hufflepuff common room, passing Annie and Gabby on her way in. She quickly waved to them and swiftly rushed to their dorm to hide the box. The next five and a half years were going to be FUN! Helping the Prewett twins would help Rachel get through the rest of her Hogwarts tenure._

The Potter siblings emerged from the Pensieve to find Malfoy and Vega talking. "Dragon, Lyre, I've finished showing him the memories!" Rachel called. The cousins looked up from their discussion and glanced over the Potter siblings to listen to Rachel's commentary. "_Everything-_" at this, Harry noticed that his sister raised an eyebrow in Draco's direction, "has been discussed with my brother." A message had to be conveyed to the Slytherin in secret; Vega could know absolutely nothing about the plans for the holiday

"Okay, good," Vega replied. She glanced over the clock. "Brianna's and Hermione's memories will be done tomorrow. There isn't must time before curfew. Seven o'clock tomorrow, I'll be waiting here along with Brianna and Hermione. Then, we can finish with the Raider memories."

As Vega disappeared, Harry started to follow her when he heard Malfoy and Rachel start talking. "Ray, did you inform him of that thing that Vega didn't want to tell him?" the Slytherin pressed.

"Uh, no," Rachel replied, biting her lip.

At hearing this, Harry was intrigued. _What's he talking about what did Vega—and Rachel—decide not to tell me?_ Whatever it was, it seemed as if Malfoy disagreed with what they were doing; he had a scowl plastered on his face upon hearing what Rachel did, or rather _didn't_ do.

"Why not?" he questioned.

"Because Vega's Marauder/Raider tradition is far more important at the moment," Rachel reminded him. Harry's eyes rolled. _Not necessarily. _"I can always inform Harry of that after we take care of tradition."

"_Not _a good idea," Malfoy muttered. "Your brother needs to know. You and Vega are making a mistake in not telling him about that. If Lily, Padfoot, and Prongs realize that he doesn't know, it might cause some major problems. Bear that in mind, because I will be right."

"And, _what _of your situation?" Rachel asked. "If we need to tell my brother about _that_, you should think about doing the same. And, we both know you don't intend on doing so. Take your own advice, Draco."

"My situation is very different from yours," Draco reminded the younger girl. "Whereas Harry was at least okay with yours and Vega's situations, it was made very clear that he was not too fond of my situation; and you know it. Ever since he found out about that, Harry's been doing everything he can to eliminate it. It's far better for this to remain under wraps."

"Hypocrite!" Rachel exclaimed. Harry eyed his sister, wondering what the Hufflepuff third-year meant by her statement. "You're so insistent that Rhapsody and I inform Sahara of everything that's been going on, yet you refuse to do the same. Again I say hypocrite!"

Malfoy scowled. "Fine, I'll tell him. But, you and Vega must also inform your brother about what you've been hiding. That's the only way I'll ever discuss any of this with Harry."

"Agreed."

Harry left the Room of Requirement shortly after listening in on that conversation. There was nothing more that seemed relevant to this situation, or anything of the like. And, as he headed up to Gryffindor Tower to join Vega, he wondered what his sister and _best friend_ were talking about back there. What was it that they were hiding from Harry? And why? What was so bad about the information that they opted to keep it to themselves, rather than informing as they should have? Something very odd was going on around here; secrets were being concealed from him, yet again. He refused to stand for such a thing, however; so many secrets were concealed from him over the years that he was quite sick of it. So, come morning, Harry intended on figuring out exactly what secrets Malfoy, Vega, and Rachel hid from him. He was determined to know exactly what they were.

_

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**Author's Note: When I started writing this story at Rachel's request, I had no intention of writing the last memory mentioned within this chapter. It was a spur of the moment decision based on what day this is. And _that_ brings me to something important I must say: Happy Birthday, Rachel! I hope you enjoyed your birthday present. The fourteenth chapter on your fourteenth birthday; what the hell was I thinking? And, I really couldn't help the Cedric prank and the subsequent statement made about him. It was the best way for me to make fun of Twilight _and_ Robert Pattinson.**

**This last chapter introduces an idea I've been playing with for awhile. Rachel, you know what I'm talking about. That will be revealed gradually over the course of the next few chapters. Harry always seemed to get angry when secrets were concealed from him that I thought this would be the perfect way to do reveal my idea.  
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**Next up is Brianna's memories, including her version of the Sorting.  
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**Leave a review.  
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